The Home for the Needy Foundation, an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Edo State, has raised concerns over the overwhelming number of victims seeking refuge. The facility, which has long housed survivors of insurgency from Borno, Plateau, and Kebbi states, is now facing new demands from families escaping attacks in Katsina and other regions.
Growing Humanitarian Burden
Founder and Coordinator of the home, speaking in Benin, noted that worsening insecurity and the silent takeover of rural communities by armed groups have forced many families into displacement. He lamented that the camp lacks adequate space and resources to accommodate the rising number of victims. “People from Katsina are calling us every day asking to come to our centre, but where are we going to keep them?” he asked.
Spread of Insurgency
The cleric warned that insurgency and violent attacks have spread beyond the North-East to states like Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Oyo, and Ekiti. He stressed that many killings and displacements in rural areas go unreported. “Communities in Plateau and parts of the North-East are still being occupied. People are displaced daily, and nobody is talking about it,” he said.
Stories of Hardship
He recounted the ordeal of a widow supported through farming, whose entire harvest was stolen by terrorists after they invaded her farmland. “One widow we supported in farming lost everything after terrorists attacked the farm and killed people there,” he described, highlighting the harsh realities faced by displaced families.
Long-Term Solutions
The centre has shifted focus to agricultural settlement and food production as a long-term response. Land has been secured in the Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable displaced persons to farm and become self-reliant. Some families have already been settled in rented homes near farmland.
Appeal for Support
The founder called on corporate organizations, donor agencies, and well-meaning Nigerians to provide toiletries, sanitary pads, mattresses, and educational materials for displaced children, urging urgent intervention to address the crisis.
