Kajuru Attacks: 12,480 Displaced Persons Live in IDP Camps

Kajuru Attacks: 12,480 Displaced Persons Live in IDP Camps

By John Shiklam in Kaduna

A total of 12,480 displaced persons in the Kajuru attacks are taking refuge in 11 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) located in Kajuru and Chikun Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

This was disclosed at the weekend in one of the camps in Mararaban Kajuru, during the presentation of roofing sheets and relief materials worth millions of naira by the Relief and Implementation Committee set up by the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU).

Many communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State were destroyed following the invasion by gunmen said to be Fulani herdsmen.

Speaking while presenting the materials, the chairman of the committee, Dr. Laah Joshua, said 684 houses were burnt during the deadly attacks on Kajuru communities, while 48 houses were also burnt in Nandu Nbok village, Sanga Local Government Area of the state, during a recent attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

According to him, ”A total of 12,480 displaced people are staying in 11 IDP camps in the state.”
He said the IDP camp in Mararaban Kajuru has the highest number of IDPs, with 4,410 people, followed by Kufana with 3,324 people.

He explained that his committee was set up by SOKAPU to assist the victims of the attacks rebuild their homes and returned to their communities as the farming season approaches.

He called on corporate bodies and spirited individuals to come to the aid of the communities.

A committee for the rebuilding and resettlement of the Kajuru Nandu (in Sanga LGA) communities headed by Fr. Williams Abba was also inaugurated during the presentation of the materials.

In his remarks after the inauguration, Fr. Abba lamented the killings in Kajuru and Sanga and called on the authorities to stop the killings by fishing out the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.

”Our brothers and sisters in Adara land and other parts of Southern Kaduna have been traumatised and terrorised.
”They have buried in hundreds, their kith and kin. They are still nurturing the injured. We are grateful that some of them have made significant progress. Some of the injured are still in the hospitals and many more have been discharged.

“Regrettably, some of them may have to leave with permanent disabilities. Community after community have been sacked and are still being sacked. ”Houses have been razed down. Food barns have been turned into ashes. Our brothers and sisters have been displaced.

“They are without shelter. They are hungry. They are vulnerable. It is our duty and those of many good spirited individuals to come to the aid of our relations. They need us now.

”They want to feel us closer to them. What SOKAPU has done today by organising this event for which relief materials will be presented and the committee for the resettlement of the displaced inaugurated is to challenge our common humanity as well as sense of brotherhood and push everyone of us into action,” he said.

According to Abba, “It is not enough to cry for the victims. We must do something. Our deliberate efforts in the coming days will speak volumes about us. We must intervene. We must help our brothers and sisters to overcome fear, rebuild their homes and go back to their communities.”

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