By Tina George, Minna
Against Nigeria state government’s directive that the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, currently seeking refuge in Minna, the Niger state capital, return to their various non-secured villages, the IDPs have vowed never to go back and be killed by bandits.
The IDPs are currently taking refuge at IBB Primary School, close to Minna Emir’s palace.
The school was turned into an IDP camp following an attack on villages in Shiroro and Munya local government areas by bandits.
When ASHENEWS visited the camp Tuesday afternoon, our reporter saw some of the IDPs leaving while others insisted that they would remain in the camp until the security situation improved in their communities.
One of the women in the camp, Fatimah Garba insisted that she would not return to her community, adding that if government insisted, she would move to her father’s house.
“If the government says I should leave, I will move back to my father’s house until my husband’s village is peaceful.
“I am tired of the tension the bandits are giving us. We have paid several ransoms to secure the release of our people but even at that, our people are still being tortured, maimed and killed on daily basis by the armed men.
“The last ransom we paid was N1.5 million before we could secure the release of four people who were abducted.
“This recent attack, we were lucky because a neighbouring village that was attacked had earlier informed us and we were able to run away before they got to the village.
“Government have to do something about the security situation because we cannot go back to our community in this kind of insecurity.”
Another IDP, Tanko Zariya told ASHENEWS that he would not leave the camp until there was a standby security arrangement for them.
He said that government has no right to send them out of the camp as their responsibility is to keep them safe.
“They have failed to keep us safe and now they are sending us back to danger. I and my family are not moving from here at all. We will not leave. Let them force us out of here.”
One of the youth leaders in the camp, who spoke under anonymity, explained that the people were leaving the camp because the governor on Monday asked some of them to return to their villages.
It would be recalled that Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello, who visited the camp on Monday said some of the IDPs would be returning home.
He however said that some others will have to remain in the camp because their villages and towns had been overtaken by bandits.
