At least 10 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, have so far been killed by armed herdsmen at the Gbajimba IDPs Camp in Guma Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State, the Camp Manager, Mr. Felix Banke said.
He disclosed this when he received the delegation of the United States Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, USBHA, led by the acting Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Sir James Iorpuu, at the camp.
According to him, so far “nine persons were killed in Gbajimba IDPs Camp II by armed herdsmen since the establishment of the camp and only one week ago they invaded Gbajimba IDPs Camp I and killed one person whose corpse is yet to be buried.”
Apart from the menace of armed herdsmen, he said the inmates of the camp were also facing the challenge of diarrhea “due to lack of portable water supply in the camp.”
The Manager explained that in addition to the displaced persons from Benue State the camps were also hosting IDPs from neighbouring Nasarawa State.
He stated that the IDPs were all eager to return to their ancestral homes if their safety would be guaranteed adding that the IDPs were also willing to be trained in skills such as hairdressing, welding, tailoring among others, to support themselves if availed the opportunity.
At the Ortese IDPs Camp also in Guma LGA, where herders were seen openly grazing their cattle behind the camp, the Manager, Mr. Mark Kparev said “over 11,000 of the IDPs have so far been captured in the ongoing biometric capturing exercise.”
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