‘23 died of hunger, unhealthy conditions in Katsina IDPs camp’

Twenty-three have died of hunger, high blood pressure and depression at the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The chairman of the IDP camp, Sa’ad Salisu, disclosed this while speaking to some journalists in Jibia yesterday.

A record made available by the Jibia Development Association showed that at least 22,365 IDPs from Shimfida, Garin Maiwuya, Garin Zango, Garin Kwari (Farfaru) and Tsambaye villages live in Jibia town.

The IDPs are taking refuge at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Jibia

Salisu, who is also the chairman of the Shimfida Youth Development Association, said that at least 35 women had also given birth in the camp within the last four months, saying that the number could be even higher.

Another disturbing development as Salisu explained, was that the vast majority of the children both in the town and in the camp could not have access to education.

“We have over 3,000 children in this camp that left their communities with school uniforms but now cannot go to school because the government hasn’t provided a school for them in the camp,” he said.

Salisu then called on the state government to expedite action towards restoring security in their communities to enable them to return and continue with their farming activities.

In his reaction, the Jibia Local Government Chairman, Bishir Sabi’u, said the government had provided adequate relief materials to the IDPs.

“Fifteen bags of rice are being cooked for them in the camp daily. I do give them N200,000 weekly to support their daily activities in the camp,” he said.