Mr Gabriel Yev is the Chairman of the Tse Yandev Internally Displaced People’s camp along Sarwuan Tarka University of Agriculture-Makurdi Road. Yev speaks with JOHN CHARLES about the plight of the IDPs

Do you still have new people coming to this camp to take refuge?

In the last one month, the camp has received more people who fled their homes after an attack by killer herdsmen around Yelewata, Yogbo and Mban communities. There were also some villages around Orogbo that were recently attacked leading to an increase in the number of IDPs in this camp.

Do you have a record of the number of IDPs currently in this camp?

Initially, we were about 10,102 in number but now we are up to 10,407. The number of households was 5,249 but now we have 5,384 households. But the new entrants into the camp have not yet been well profiled and captured. We know their number but we have not categorised them. In the last one month we’ve had 305 new entrants, from 135 households, into the camp. The total number of males in the camp is 3,457 while the total of females is 6,645, which gives us a total of 10,102 IDPs.

Have you recorded any death in the camp since it was opened?

We have not recorded any death in the camp.

Have you recorded any births?

We have recorded many births in the camp.

How do the IDPs in this camp feed?

We have been surviving by help coming from churches, NGOs and good-spirited individuals.There is no government presence here yet. No health facility on the ground and there is no provision for food. We hope that someday the government will do something because we are also within the reach of the government despite the limited resources.

Doctors Without Borders are the ones constructing latrines for us. We thank them because without them there wouldn’t have been any physical structures of toilets. They have also been providing us water in tankers though they came last week to do a feasibility study to sink a borehole for us.

Given the nature of the camp, have you ever experienced any kind of disease outbreak?

None at all, what we have is malaria in the camp. We do not readily have the number of the victims but only yesterday (Wednesday) we bought malaria drugs worth N50,000. We treated 15 people today (Thursday) and in the last one month we have treated about 200 people for malaria.

Are these structures able to hold the rain or what do you do when it begins to rain?

When it rains it’s not easy but we try to relocate the aged and nursing mothers to uncompleted buildings located within the communities. Those that cannot have a place to take shelter cluster around the two halls we have within the camp. They all stand till it stops raining. If it rains all through the night we will all remain standing until it stops raining. That is the kind of torture we experience here.

How long has this camp been opened?

We have been here since December 15, 2020. SEMA’s presence is not yet in this camp. The camp was approved but not officially recognised.

What do you want government to do for you?

We appeal to the government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the IDPs, especially in the area of food, shelter and medical care because so many of us are down with malaria in this camp. We will be happy if the government gives us attention.

Is malaria the only sickness plaguing IPDs in this camp?

Apart from malaria there have been complaints of cough and catarrh in the camp. COVID-19 test was carried out here and no case was recorded. Diarrhea has been recorded among children.

Where do the IDPs in this camp come from?

They are from different locations and communities. We have people from Guma, Gwer West, Makurdi and even from Nasarawa and Taraba states.