FG dispatches relief materials to 4,500 Camerounian refugees

Clement Idoko, Makurdi - 25.05.2008

THE Federal Government at the weekend delivered relief materials worth millions of naira to about 4,500 Camerounian refugees in Nigeria .

Two truck-loads of food and non-food items—bags of beans, tubers of yam, milk, sugar, kerosene, among others, were delivered to the refugees at the Kwande Local Government Refugee Camp, Menev, in Ikurav-ya district, near Cameroun border, Benue State .

Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Hajia Hadija Kangiwa, who led the government’s team, described the condition of the refugees as sad and pitiable. Most of the refugees were aged women and children devastated by the war between two ethnic groups in the Southern part of Cameroun .

She disclosed that President Umaru Yar’-Adua ordered for immediate intervention following petition by the Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam and reports by the Red Cross Society on the need for urgent intervention on the appalling condition of the refugees at the camp threatened by hunger and health related diseases.

This was in the wake of violence that broke out between neighbouring communities, Oyive and Oliti, all in Southern part of Cameroun about five months ago. While the Oyive flee to Benue , their rival community, Oliti took refuge at Obandiko community in Cross River State .

He said “since we come here in January, our women have given birth to 24 babies. As you can see, we are over 4000 and we don’t have enough space at the camp. Our host community is good to us. They give us some of their rooms in which about 10 to 20 people sleep in a room.

“See our small children, no cloth, no nothing because we ran away and did not carry anything as they overcome us because of large numbers. If Nigeria government help us and they settle and call us we will go, if not we will not go”, he stated.