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| Image credit: Médecins sans Frontières |
There has
been panic among Borno officials ahead of a meeting with President Muhammadu
Buhari on Monday.
PREMIUM TIMES report
continues:
Officials of the Borno
State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the National Emergency Management
Agency, NEMA, on Sunday boarded a flight that left Maiduguri ahead of the
meeting with the president at the Aso Rock villa.
Mr. Buhari is said to be
angry at reports that persons displaced by the Boko Haram, who are currently
seeking refuge at government owned camps, have been dying of malnutrition. This
is despite the billions of naira and materials provided by the federal
government, state governments, non-governmental organizations and private
individuals to assist the displaced persons.
The president is expected
to seek explanations especially following the recent statement and photographs
released by Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders or MSF) showing
malnourished persons in the camps.
Last week, the MSF issued
a statement saying some 24,000 IDPs are in dire health situation with at least
30 people – mostly children – dying every day.
Two weeks ago, the Borno
State governor, Kashim Shettima, paid a visit to Bama camp upon receiving
reports that hundreds of malnourished persons recently rescued from Boko Haram
captivity were dying in a camp in Bama, 75km from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Governor Shettima ordered
the relocation of 61 children with acute condition of malnutrition to the
intensive care unit of the Umaru Shehu Ultramodern Hospital in Maiduguri where
they are currently being attended to.
Another set of over 400 persons
with lesser cases of malnourishment were also moved out of the camp to a
special care unit for proper feeding and medication.
But before the Governor’s
visit to Bama, dozens of the IDPs had died of hunger-induced ailments, an
official said.
An official at the camp
told journalists that “We have been recording daily cases of mortality here in
the camp since the soldiers brought in these set of IDPs who had been under the
Boko Haram insurgents’ captivity for over two years.”
A Borno official that
visited the camp recently informed PREMIUM TIMES in Maiduguri that “the local
camp officials in Bama could not notice the case of malnutrition in the IDPs
hence they continued to feed them with the normal staple foods consumed by the
camp inmates.”
A philanthropist, Modupe
Ozoluwa, also visited the camp together with Mr. Shettima the next day. She
later released some pictures showing her carrying one of the malnourished
children in Bama.
The MSF officials visited
the special care centre to treat the sick IDPs. They later issued a damning
statement backed by disturbing images of malnutrition and deaths in the camps.
“This is the first time
MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the needs of the people
there are beyond critical,” Ghada Hatim, MSF’ head of mission in Nigeria, said.
“We are treating
malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri and see the trauma on
the faces of our patients who have witnessed and survived many horrors.
“Bama is largely closed
off. We have been told that people including children there half starved to
death. According to the accounts given to MSF by displaced people in Bama new
graves are appearing on a daily basis. We were told more than 30 people are
dying a day due to hunger and illness”.
The MSF statement
reportedly provoked the presidency who then summoned the Borno officials to
Abuja.
Some agitated Borno
emergency officials, unaware of the president’s plan, blamed the MSF for
causing the state such embarrassment by insinuating that the Bama camp could
not be accessed.
Although the state
government is yet to react to the MSF’s statement, an aide of Governor
Shettima, who did not want to be quoted because he has not been granted leave
to speak on the matter, accused the respected international organisation of
insincerity.
“The MSF had never
visited the camps, even though other aid workers have been going to the camp
frequently,” he said.
“It was because the
Governor visited Bama and brought the sick and malnourished IDPs to Maiduguri
after the soldiers of the Nigeria Army rescued them that even the MSF were able
to go there to administer medication on them.
“But instead of
acknowledging our effort they were busy issuing statements claiming credit for
what they did not do”.
The official provided an
unofficial version of the reason for the malnourished and dying IDPs.
“The Governor had visited
the camp twice and the Deputy Governor too had also visited the camp couple of
times and all these while life in the camp was normal,,” he said, “until
soldiers rescued these group of malnourished persons early this month and moved
them into the Bama camp.”
“It was not as if the
malnourishment was as a result of the situation in the camp but because of the
torture and hunger the Boko Haram insurgents subjected them to over two years,”
the official said
Boko
Haram Victims Dying Of Starvation As Borno Officials Steal Relief Materials
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Thousands of IDPs in Borno State left hungry and starving as
officials enrich selves from the sales of diverted food meant for IDPs.
|
PREMIUM TIMES reports
that officials of the Borno State government in charge of administering foods
and other relief materials for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are in
trouble for allegedly re-bagging and diverting rice donated by philanthropic
organisations and well-meaning individuals.
Thousands of IDPs in over
20 camps around Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, are left hungry as
officials enrich selves from the sales of diverted food meant for IDPs.
Many others have died of
starvation while hundreds have been hospitalised.
Borno State Governor,
Kashim Shettima, on Friday directed the police and the State Security Services
to go after officials involved in the act.
The governor’s
spokesperson, Isa Gusau, said Mr. Shettima’s directive followed the circulation
of video clips and still pictures on the social media showing bags of rice
purportedly from NEMA being re-bagged by officials of the Borno State Emergency
Management Agency.
Mr. Shettima spoke at a
meeting with heads of all security and para-military organisations in Borno
State shortly after he held the traditional iftar (breaking of fast) with them
at the Government House on Friday night.
Mr. Isa added that the
governor described those who circulated the video as a group of Abuja-based
politicians from Borno State bent on bringing down his administration.
But critics said the
governor’s directive came a bit late because the action of thieving officials had
already led to the death of several IDPs, some of whom perished from starvation
and malnutrition.
In Bama town, 75km away
from Maiduguri, hungry and malnourished IDPs die on daily basis because of
inadequate food supply, those familiar with the matter said.
Governor Shettima had to
visit Bama camp after receiving report that IDPs were dying rapidly due to lack
of care and proper nutrition.
At the camp, the governor
saw how hungry IDPs were left unattended to even as fresh corpses of persons
killed by hunger were being buried, his aides said.
The governor had to
quickly direct officials of the state ministry of health to move 61 persons
with acute condition of malnutrition to the intensive care unit of the Umaru
Shehu Ultramodern Hospital, Maiduguri, to save them from dying.
Another set of 478
children, alongside 219 adults with lesser cases of malnutrition, were also
moved to a special care unit for proper feeding and medication, officials said.
Sources in Bama said
before the governor’s visit on Wednesday, bodies wrapped in mats and being
moved for burial were common sights at the camp “almost on daily basis.”
“We have lost count of
people that have died so far in this camp”, said a concerned local camp
official. “It was really a messy situation when you have to pick corpses of
malnourished persons everyday; sometimes some of the dead ones may not even be
discovered on time.”
“The theft is not restricted
to food items alone, medical drugs, toiletries, beddings and wrappers have been
diverted to the market and sold by greedy officials.”
Meanwhile, the Borno
State Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Ahmed Satomi,
has been summoned by the state’s House of Assembly to explain why Internally
Displaced Persons are dying of malnutrition everyday in various camps managed
by the state government.
Mr Satomi is also to
answer questions on the alleged diversion of relief materials.
The Assembly had on
Thursday issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the SEMA boss to appear before a
seven-man ad hoc committee on the alleged diversion and repackaging of relief
items donated by Dangote Foundation and other humanitarian agencies for feeding
the about 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
The lawmakers are also
seeking explanation regarding the multiple deaths at the camps, especially in
Bama.
The Chairman, House
Committee Verification on the plight of IDPs, Mustapha Ngala, who led other
members to the office of SEMA Friday told journalists that his committee was
mandated to go round IDP camps to see if there were any gap in feeding and
welfare need of victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“We have gone round most
of the camps to see things for ourself and report back appropriately to the
House and the authorities, we have been to Dalori Camp I & II, Bakassi
Camp, Shettima Ali Monguno Camp among other resettlement camps,” Mr. Ngala said.
“We have had discussions
with those managing these camps and the victims themselves (IDPs). We have not
concluded our findings to tell you what we have gathered yet, but very soon,
when we are through with our findings, we are going to tell the public.”
Mr. Ngala however said
the state assembly was displeased with the “series of allegations bothering on
corruptions and lapses in SEMA”.
Efforts by this newspaper
to track down the SEMA chief executive for comments on the allegations against
his agency and staff were unsuccessful.
Mr Satomi failed to keep a promise to revert as soon as he was done with an assignment he was handling.
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