International Day of Peace: NGO visits IDP camp, seeks intervention

To mark the September 21, 2018 International Day of Peace, an international Non-Governmental Organization, Search for Common Ground, one of foremost peace building and conflict transformation organizations, globally represented by Danjuma Mohammed, led a team of five persons comprising the Executive Chairman of the Adamawa State Peace, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency, Dr. Agoso Bamaiyi; Maria de Sojo; Murtala Mohammed of the World Food Programme; and Peter Egwudah, Chairman of the Network of Adamawa Non-Governmental Organizations, to visit the Internally Displaced Persons as a result of the September 15, 2018 attack in communities of Demsa, Numan and Lamurde Local Government Areas of Adamawa State.

According to reports, the number of deaths recorded in the Numan II camp from four villages attacked by gunmen were Gon, four; Nzumosu, 27; Bolki, one; and none in Yanga.

As at the time of filing this report, the number of IDPs stand being housed in the Numan II Primary School camp stood at 3,815, while another camp on the border co mmunity between Adamawa and Taraba States, Kpasham Primary School IDP camp, has over 5,700 people with no humanitarian aid or government intervention.

The increasing number of the IDPs makes the humanitarian challenge of people starving, accessibility of healthcare, problem of shelter, education as well as the struggle of the host communities struggling for space, Danjuma Mohammed said.

The Community Leader of Kpasham, has called on the Adamawa State Government and other humanitarian organizations working in the state to speedily come to their rescue as their young children cannot resume school with the IDPs currently occupying their classrooms.

The team visited the paramount traditional leaders of Numan and Demsa as well as the Heads of Local Government Administration of Demsa, Numan and Lamurde LGAs and emphasis was made by Danjuma Mohammed on the need for peaceful co-existence and the team designed livelihood programmes supported by peace building, especially for 42 communities that have so far been attacked by suspected Fulani marauders.