Arewa leaders condemn the plight of IDPs in North East

The Arewa leaders have express concern over the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the northeast, asking for immediate Federal Government intervention in order to avoid human disaster in the camps.

The members of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at a meeting yesterday, said that majority of the IDPs in the north east have been subjected to starvation and sexual harassment allegedly by officials and outsiders who invade the various camps.

In a communiqué after the Forum’s meeting, signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mohammadu Ibrahim, “the meeting noted with dismay and concern the dehumanizing conditions at the IDPS camps, in particular starvation and the alleged sex assault on women”, while calling “on the authorities to urgently address this embarrassing and despicable situation”.

Besides, the ACF leaders commended the efforts of the Federal and states governments, humanitarian organizations and individual philanthropists “ in providing relief materials to the affected persons, saying that “however, there is the need to ensure judicious distribution of these materials and strict, effective supervision of officials entrusted with the responsibility”.

The meeting of the Arewa leaders was chaired by the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), retired Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Mouktar Muhammed and they deliberated on issues of national importance, especially the recurrent security challenges in some Northern states.

The Forum resolved as follows:
. That the extraordinary meeting convened by the Northern States Governors Forum on Monday, in Kaduna with Northern Emirs, Chiefs and leaders of Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders Forum and that of Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in attendance to discuss the lingering security challenges in the North especially the recent Southern Kaduna crisis was timely and appropriate considering the insecurity bedeviling the Northern region,

. That ACF acknowledges the wisdom of the Northern States Governors Forum to involve the traditional rulers and elder statesmen in finding a practical and enduring solution to the security challenges of farmers/herdsmen clashes, communal/religious crises, kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling etc. It also appreciated the honest, frank and sincere contributions of the Traditional rulers and the Northern Organizations and calls on the Northern Governors to seriously consider and implement them for the development of the North,

. That it is the business of ACF to always offer constructive advice and suggestions to our political leaders for not only good governance but the need to foster, promote, defend, strengthen national unity and peaceful coexistence in the context of one indivisible Nigeria, and

. The meeting also salutes the gallant effort of our military and other security agencies in degrading the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast and calls for constant surveillance and intelligence gathering to forestall any ugly incidence of attack and bomb blast.