As the Borno State government closes the last few remaining official protective internally displaced persons’ camps in Maiduguri, more and more unofficial informal camps are springing up around the city.

The exact number of the new camps is not known because as one camp becomes too full, another is established. Seven of the biggest new camps, though, are New Bakassi, Mashidimami, CBN, Dalori Gari, Kullulluri, Dalori trailer camp and Molai.

Besides the new camps, there are already more than 80 unofficial camps around the city.

And the humanitarian crisis is overwhelming. Residents of both the new camps and the already long-established informal camps don’t have enough food, there are no healthcare facilities, they don’t have potable water and there are no schools for their children. The camps are getting increasingly congested as more people move in.

The governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, announced in October last year that all the official IDP camps would be closed on December 31. His reasoning was that relative peace had returned to the state and the displaced people could return and be resettled in their ancestral homes without fear of attacks by insurgents.

However, some of the official camps remained open. Gubio camp, for example, still has people, mostly from Gamboru Ngala, staying there. They are waiting for money, food and essential items to be provided by the government. And, as yet no transport has been organised to get them to their hometowns.

A few weeks ago the government said the remaining camps would be closed on Saturday, December 10, and it started making preparations to evacuate the camps. The evacuations are still in progress. 

RNI visited some of the new and old unofficial informal camps, where residents said the humanitarian crisis was escalating as more people streamed in. They said they were not receiving any help from the government or non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In December last year, Zulum banned the distribution of food relief by NGOs in the five local government areas of the state, saying that the ban was part of the process of transiting from dependence on humanitarian assistance to socioeconomic self-reliance.

However, when RNI visited the camps, it was evident that the inhabitants were in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

Kalau Ahmadu, a displaced person originally from the Attagara community in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, said: “Boko Haram [Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād – JAS] attacked us on June 2 in 2014. It’s a day I will never forget. Since then, we took refuge at the Bakassi IDP camp here in Maiduguri before the government closed it down in November last year.

“Some IDPs returned to Gwoza, some rented houses in Maiduguri and some joined the already existing informal community camps. I rented I single room for six months, but life was very difficult for my family because we had not had any humanitarian aid since we left the Bakassi camp and the ₦100,000 I received from the government lasted for less than a month.”

Ahmadu said a friend told him about New Bakassi, which had just recently been established not very far from the main Bakassi camp.

“I was excited, because my rent was expiring in two weeks and I didn’t have any money to renew it. I asked my family to pack immediately and we were welcomed at the New Bakassi. 

“Life here is not easy because we are on our own. We do not get support from the government or any NGOs but it’s better staying here than going back to Attagara or renting a house in Maiduguri. At least we don’t have to pay for rent here,” he said.

“Some people who went back to Gwoza initially, when the main Bakassi camp was closed, are gradually coming back. There are not many of them but some have returned.

“I don’t want to go back to Gwoza, despite the hardship, because the news coming out from there is not encouraging. I don’t want to risk my life or the lives of my family.”

Usman Wakil from Dalori trailer camp arrived just two days after Dalori camp was closed by the government.

“I did not know where to go at that time. And it was not only me, most of the IDPs did not have a place to go to. We don’t have relatives in Maiduguri and even those who do have family can’t just move in and stay with them. In these economic times, they cannot afford to look after even more people.

“I was not interested in going back to Nguro-soi town because I saw some terrible things when my community was attacked and it is still fresh on my mind. That was the attack that resulted in our displacement. I don’t want to experience it for the second time.”

Wakil said the government closed the Dalori camp on August 7 this year.

“We were told to leave the camp and we did not know where to go. We were stranded, sleeping in front of the closed camp for two days until the security operatives ordered us to leave immediately.

“We did not know where to go and that was when we formed this camp. Initially, there were less than 400 households. But, gradually, the number is going up and now there are more than 1,000 households. We have had an influx of IDPs from other closed camps or from smaller community camps that did not have the space to give them shelter.”

Alhaji Bukar Limanti, an IDP who is taking refuge at Sare 1, a long-established informal community camp, told RNI that the residents faced many challenges.

“I have been living in this camp for nearly three years now. Most of the IDPs were originally from Limanti village in Konduga West between Bula-bulin Ngaura and Molai on the Damboa road.

“Initially, we stayed in Kor-fidawo, an unofficial camp in Konduga Local Government Area. But we were asked to vacate the place by the owner and so we came to Sare 1 camp. Most of the residents came here before the government decided to shut down the official IDP camps. But now there are people coming from the official IDP camps because the government is finally shutting down the last few remaining camps that were not closed in December last year.

“There are so many challenges confronting us, particularly to do with health, education and food. We have no healthcare facilities or clinics, there are no schools for our children and we struggle to get food. We are hungry all the time. Some people have died from starvation. We are pleading with the Borno State government to provide food, healthcare services and education for our children.”

Masa Hijiya, a displaced man in Kushari informal camp, told RNI that he and his family went there after they were asked to leave the house they rented because he could not afford to pay.

“I’m a displaced person from the Konduga Local Government Area. When I could not pay the rent we moved into the camp. We have been here for two years. Many IDPs moved into the camp when the government closed the official Bakassi camp. And as other camps were closed, more people came here.

“We desperately need help from both the government and NGOs. We wish the government could provide a lasting solution for us. Facing all these difficulties is extremely hard. May Allah help us out of this scary situation.”

Usman Mohammed at Sulumburi unofficial camp said that he was among the people who established the camp eight years ago after the insurgents chased them away from their hometown of Dalwa village in the Konduga Local Government Area.

“We spent all these years struggling to feed our families. We have had no humanitarian assistance from the government or NGOs. We need food, shelters, healthcare services and education for our out-of-school children. The situation in the camp is getting worse, exacerbated by the influx of IDPs from the official IDP camps that were shut down.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO