Rann IDP camp burns down, 5 dead

More than 200 huts in the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camp in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government of Borno State burnt down to the ground, killing four women and a child on Monday, March 26, 2018.

According to a report by The Nation, the death toll of the fire incident may increase as many IDPs living in the camp suffered severe degrees of burns.

The caretaker Chairman of Kala-Balge LGA, Bishara Lawan, confirmed the incident, disclosing that his parents and family members were also affected as they all reside in the camp.

He said, "I have met with Governor Kashim Shettima, and he has made some arrangements for the welfare of the victims. Even though the camp has been overcrowded, there has been arrangement to separate the camp to decongest it before the fire outbreak.

"Right now I am going there with blankets, mats and food items and other commodities as temporarily measure to ameliorate the immediate problems of the IDPs."

The population of people living in the Rann camp are victims of the insurgency of terrorist group, Boko Haram, who have carried out several attacks in Borno and surrounding states for close to a decade.

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under Abubakar Shekau'sleadership, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.

After a massive military operation resulted in the displacement of the group from its Camp Zairo base in the infamous Sambisa Forest, it has resorted to suicide bomb attacks on soft targets and carried out daring attacks on military bases, with hundreds of captives still unaccounted for.