Effects of banditry have pushed 11,000 children out of school and 29,774 people to Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps in Niger State, the state’s commissioner for humanitarian affairs and disaster management, Hon. Ahmed Baba Suleiman Yumu, has said.
He spoke at the flag-off of the School to Kitchen empowerment programme by the minister of humanitarian affairs, Dr. Betta Edu, at the Gwada IDP camp in Shiroro local government area of the state.
Yumu decried the influx of internally displaced persons into various IDP camps daily across the state, saying it was alarming and pathetic because the state was being overstretched.
“Out of the 29, 774 internally displaced persons in the state, 27, 750 are women, 11,113 out of school children 3,201 men and 180 persons are those with special needs. We have various IDP camps outside Shiroro in Mariga, Kontagora, Mashegu, Rijau, Mokwa and Munya local government areas ,” the commissioner said.
He said the state was saddled with the task of providing necessary amenities and fighting banditry along with converting primary and secondary schools to internally displaced persons’ camps.
He further disclosed that 11 of the 25 local government areas in the three senatorial zones in the state were constantly attacked by bandits, forcing people to the various IDP camps.
The minister who was the special guest at the flag-off lamented that 400 schools were shut down in the state, describing it as unacceptable.
She assured that the federal government was doing everything possible to ensure that peace is restored to the troubled communities for displaced persons to return home.
She said the government was worried by the development that there were over 11,000 out of school children across various IDP camps in the state and called on donor agencies to support the government on education of children at the camps.
