The life of a father of eight children living in one of the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, Northeast Nigeria, unable to feed himself, let alone his family in the absence of food stamps and as a result, sends most of his children away to cater for themselves, is becoming common. The implications […]
Read More
Since it returned to democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has faced a steady rise in the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Ethnic fault lines thought to have previously been kept in check by the military authorities suddenly broke out, especially in the north-central region, leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of people […]
Read More
Bintu Ari was known as a cheerful woman who had vowed not to allow even the Boko Haram crisis to steal her joy. But that changed on Saturday, Jan. 15. After she was displaced from Dumbasa, a village in Borno, Northeast Nigeria, years ago, the 49-year-old joined other fleeing kinsmen and neighbours to settle at […]
Read More
While Baana Alhaji Ali was in detention, the officials at Giwa barracks where he was held would move from cell to cell every morning to ask if there were any dead bodies to evacuate; people who had died overnight. There was always one; “an average of four to five bodies daily.” But one day in […]
Read More
A policeman, Yohanna Amos (not real name), drove a Peugeot 406 along Juji’s dusty and bumpy road. He was making another return trip from his former neighbourhood in Babban Saura in the Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria, to Unguwan Gimbiya where he currently lives with his wife and four children. […]
Read More
A woman, dark-skinned and nose-ringed, sits on an old mat wearing a hijab, as she weaves a threaded needle in and out of a cap. The motions she’s making show that the pattern is intricate, and it seems like a task that demands complete devotion. Her concentration is fixated on it. She sits in the […]
Read More
The Borno state government announced a ban on the distribution of food and non-food items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) whom the state is currently in the process of resettling back into their original, and in some cases, new communities. This decision, coming on the heels of several reports which say that resettling IDPs itself […]
Read More
Ladi Mathias, a 40-year-old mother of nine, appeared optimistic about the future as she narrated her ordeal. She had fled a Boko Haram invasion of her hometown, Gwoza, in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, and sought refuge in a camp in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The devastating conflict in the region has directly led to tens […]
Read More
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, have blamed the non-availability of teachers in schools provided for their children in camps as one of the reasons their idle wards take to the streets. Most IDP camps in Borno State have makeshift learning centres provided for them by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) […]
Read More
Government of Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, had last week issued an 11-day ultimatum for the occupants of Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp to vacate the facility and return to their respective communities ahead of its plans to finally shut down the facility on November 30, 2021. The government said the move to shut down […]
Read More
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, recently bemoaned how the conduct of local officials has exacerbated food scarcity and hunger in their camps. The IDPs insisted that the prime suspects in the illicit diversion of food and related relief items are the local camp officials. They, however, suggested that strict regulations and […]
Read More
Modu Sulum Kayamla is a displaced resident of Borno State with 3 wives and 13 children. He wonders how he is going to fend for his family, especially now that the aid would be stopped. Like many other displaced residents, the resettlement dilemma adds to the long list of challenges they must face in Borno State.
Read More