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Boko Haram displaces over 1.4m in N’East — NEMA

Boko Haram displaces over 1.4m in N’East — NEMA

Women and children flee from home burnt by Boko Haram Islamists at Zabarmari, a fishing and farming village near Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, on July 3, 2015. Several female suicide bombers in northeast Nigeria blew themselves up amid panicked villagers fleeing a Boko Haram attack, killing scores, the army and witnesses said on July 4. The latest carnage in series of attacks that have claimed more than 200 lives in just three days happened on Friday night in Zabarmari village, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of the jihadist group. AFP PHOTO/STRINGER AFP

By Ndahi Marama

MAIDUGURI—The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA,  yesterday said that Boko Haram insurgency and incessant communal  clashes  among various ethnic  groups in the North East  sub-region of the country have displaced 1,385,298,   million persons in five states of the sub-region.

The number of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), were contained in the June, 2015 Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) released by International Organisation for Migration and NEMA  to newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

The information officer of NEMA  in a statement said that Borno state has the highest number of IDPs of 1, 002,688, while Gombe state has the least of 16, 984 persons in two camps and residents of their numerous relations and family members.

Next in number to  Borno  was the neigbouring state of Yobe   with 125, 484 displaced persons, currently living with their relations and other family members in Damaturu, Potiskum and three other towns in northern part of the state.

Datti also said: “Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba states in the North East sub-region, also recorded a total of 113,437, 76,504 and 20, 501 of IDPs in that order of influx into the state capitals of affected three states in the sub-region.”

The statement however noted: “The report indicated that there was  slight decrease in the number of IDPs compared to the last report released in April 2015 due to movements of return observed on the ground, especially in Adamawa State where the IDPs’ population has decreased.