SAN FRANCISCO, November 23, (THEWILL) – No fewer than 180, 000 residents of Bama are scattered around four Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
They were displaced from the commercial town as a result of the September siege on the town by Boko Haram.
An association of indigenes of Bama, Bama Development Foundation, disclosed this on Sunday at media briefing in Maiduguri.
Chairman of the foundation, Mallam Mohammed Hassan, who addressed journalists at the briefing, said “We have recorded about 180,000 IDPs from Bama taking shelters in four different camps in Maiduguri as at Oct. 31, 2014.”
According to Hassan, “The camps were located at the Yerwa Girls Secondary School, the Women Teachers College, the NYSC Orientation Camp and the Government Girls College, Maiduguri.”
Explaining that some other IDPs have escaped into neighbouring Cameroon and Chad Republic in search of refuge after fleeing the attack, Hassan lamented that the continued siege on Bama by Boko Haram gunmen was creating hardship on the residents still trapped in the town.
“Only about 1/3 of the Bama population has been able to escape, leaving the rest under the captivity of the insurgents. Most of those left were the weak comprising women, children and the aged. These people are currently exposed to hunger, starvation and diseases,” he lamented.
While commending the military for reclaiming towns seized by the terrorists in Adamawa State, he appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that Bama is liberated from the terrorists to enable the IDPs return home.
“We commend the military for liberating towns like Mubi in Adamawa from the insurgents. We urge them to extend the war on insurgents to Bama and liberate the town so we can all go back home,” he said.
Hassan also expressed gratitude to the Borno state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, for providing shelter to the IDPs from Bama in Maiduguri just as he praised other individuals and corporate bodies who have reached out to the Bama IDPs.
