IDPs resort to street begging in Hadejia

Dozens of the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Hadejia, Jigawa, have resorted to street begging in order to survive, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports.

NAN reports that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including women and children, were seen roaming streets, offices and market places in the area begging for alms.

NAN checks showed that most of the IDPs were taking shelter in unoccupied stalls at Hadejia market due to lack of an approved camp in the area.

Some of the IDPs, who hitherto took refuge in Hadejia, had however relocated to their homes due to improved security in Yobe and Borno.

NAN also reports that though the population of the IPDs in Hadejia has decreased, their activities have continued to constitute public nuisance.

Hadiza Bukar, one of the IDPs said she was forced to beg to get what to eat and feed her three children.

Bukar said she fled to Hadejia after the insurgents sacked their village in Damasak, Yobe.

Another IDP, Yagana Modu, said she could not locate her family since the insurgents attacked her home at Geidam area of Yobe.

Modu said that she was evacuated to Hadejia by a Good Samaritan along with hundreds of other women and young children who survived the attack.

She added that they had not been receiving assistance from the government or any organisation since they moved to the town two years ago.

Alhaji Haruna Amadu, a resident of Hadejia, described the condition of the IDPs as “pathetic”.

Amadu said that the IDPs were living under terrible conditions which exposed them to so many difficulties.

He said in spite of the alms and food the IDPs get from the locals, it was necessary for government offer them succour.

“There is a need for serious government intervention toward improving the plight of the IDPs” he said.

He also called on organisations and wealthy individuals to support the IDPs to improve their living condition.

An official of Hadejia Local Government Council, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that the state government had conducted need assessment and head count of IDPs with a view to assisting them soon.

He said that the state government had also provided transportation to Jigawa indigenes among the IDPs to enable them reunite with their families.

According to him, some state governments had also evacuated their people among the IDPs in the area.