Edo IDP Centre Raises Alarm Over Influx Of Victims, Says Camp Overwhelmed

The founder and coordinator of the Internally Displaced Centre, Home of the Needy, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, has raised concerns over what he described as overwhelming pressure on the facility following a surge in displaced persons fleeing terrorist attacks and violent invasions across parts of the country.

Folorunsho said on Sunday that the centre, which has over the years accommodated victims of insurgency from Borno, Plateau and Kebbi States, is now receiving fresh requests from displaced families escaping attacks in Katsina and other northern states.

He attributed the growing influx to worsening insecurity and what he described as the silent occupation of rural communities by armed groups, which he said has continued to force families out of their homes with limited government attention.

Speaking on the humanitarian situation, the cleric said the facility is no longer able to cope with the increasing number of displaced persons seeking shelter.

“People from Katsina are calling us every day asking to come to our centre, but where are we going to keep them?” he asked.

He warned that insecurity and violent attacks have now spread beyond the North-East into states including Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti, adding that many rural communities affected by killings and displacement are not being widely reported.

“Communities in Plateau and parts of the North-East are still being occupied. People are displaced daily and nobody is talking about it,” he said.

Folorunsho also recounted the experience of a widow supported by the centre through farming assistance, whose harvest was allegedly destroyed after a terrorist attack on her farmland.

“One widow we supported in farming lost everything after terrorists attacked the farm and killed people there,” he said.

He added that the centre is now shifting focus towards agricultural settlement and food production initiatives as a long-term response to the crisis.

According to him, land has been secured around Kwali Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory to enable displaced persons engage in farming and become self-reliant, while some families have already been resettled in rented homes in rural communities with access to farmland.

The cleric appealed to corporate organisations, donor agencies and well-meaning Nigerians to support the centre with relief materials such as toiletries, sanitary pads, mattresses and educational supplies for displaced children.

“We need help. We need soap, sanitary pads, mattresses and support for the education of these children. We have proven our integrity and we want corporate bodies to partner with us,” he said.