Borno suspends central feeding of IDPs after protest

The Borno State government yesterday suspended the central feeding of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) following a protest against the method in one of the camps in Maiduguri, the state capital.

The state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Usman Durkwa, who announced the immediate suspension of the central feeding committee introduced household feeding.

He said each family would now receive foodstuffs from the state government and cook for themselves rather than the central feeding arrangement.

Hundreds of female IDPs staged a massive peaceful protest barricading the Maiduguri-Kano-Jos road. They accused the government of inadequate supply of food to their camp at Arabic Teachers College in the metropolis.

The protesters also obstructed traffic movement on the road, which is a major highway to the capital, grounding business activities for over three hours yesterday.

The displaced persons called for the removal of officials of the central feeding committee who they accused of diverting food meant for the camp.

“We are hungry and we don’t want any feeding committee again because they are not giving us quality food. Give us our food directly,” said a middle age woman, who identified herself as Halima.

They ignored several appeals by the police to call off the action. Only the arrival of the deputy governor calmed the protesters.

Speaking with journalists later, Durkwa said the government has ordered the movement of trucks laden with food items to the camp to start household feeding. He disclosed that this experiment was successful in other IDPs camps in the state.