From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has lamented the renewed attacks on Benue communities stressing that the development has further swelled the number of displaced persons in the state which is now close to 2 million.
Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Emmanuel Shior disclosed to newsmen while distributing relief materials to internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Thursday, revealed that the humanitarian crisis caused by the frequent attacks and displacement of people from their ancestral homes was taking its toll on the state.
“We have close to 2million IDPs in the state as at now. We have recorded increase in our IDP camps because attacks have continued. We are yet to record some other new IDPs who have recently been displaced from their ancestral homes.
Shior regretted the recent displacement of people from eight communities in Kwande local government area by suspected Herdsmen saying the Agency had already visited the areas and taken stock with a view to are presently under siege.
“We have recieved the news of the attacks on eight communities in Kwande but what we need to do is to take interim measures by providing food and shelter. We are arranging for that. Our movement requires resources and getting such resources to intervene takes a little while because of government’s due process. We will have to get the approval of government among other things before we can move in and intervene.”
Shior disclosed further that the state has seven official camps and 20 unofficial camps housing the displaced persons stressing that the situation had resulted in government being overstretched in terms of providing logistics in catering for the IDPs.
The SEMA boss dispelled insinuations in some quarters, that the relief materials do not get to the IDPs, saying, “many believe that when we load relief materials, we do not take them to the camps, that it is a sham. But I believe that the media cannot be part of any sham and that is why I always carry the media along during our distribution process.”