Sokoto IDPs: Tales of displacement and despair

It is double jeopardy for some internally displaced persons (IDPs) camped at Ramin Kura, the popular yam and fruit market in Sokoto State. Daily Trust learnt that there are about 300 persons in the camp, the majority of them women and children who lost their breadwinners to banditry and Boko Haram insurgency.

It was learnt that the camp was initially made for victims of Boko Haram who came from Borno State before they were joined by the people displaced by bandits from Zamfara, Katsina and parts of Sokoto State. 

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The camp, made of makeshift tents, was said to be donated by a businessman in the state. 

Our correspondent who visited the camp observed that apart from the popular yam market, the camp is surrounded by rice farms, and the only fence that separated them had collapsed, making it vulnerable to attacks. 

Daily Trust also noticed that there were no toilets or potable water in the camp. While some of the displaced persons beg to survive, others are food vendors.

The leader of the camp, Malama Binta Muhammad, who came from Doron Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, said she stayed with 21 other women in her room, but that there are other rooms that contain at least eight persons each.

Binta, who lost her husband and relatives to insurgency, added that they were brought to Sokoto after attacks on their communities.

“When our community came under attack, we were camped in a place close to Lake Chad, before Boko Haram dispersed us.

“We were put on buses and brought to Sokoto. Initially, we were kept in a place at Kofar Kade, but because the place was too small for our number, the owner of this place was pleaded with to allow us use it since we didn’t have money to go back to Maiduguri, and some of us had lost all their families. He agreed, but before we moved in, we were screened by security operatives.

“The owner made these makeshift tents for us and even provided a toilet, which later collapsed; and since then we defecate in the open because we cannot complain to him because he is not collecting anything from us.

“We were later joined by those displaced by bandits from Zamfara, Katsina and the eastern part of Sokoto State. Some of us who have been here for almost six years sell food to survive, while those who joined us recently go out and beg,” she narrated.

She further recalled how two teenage girls were raped in the camp.

“One of the girls came with her parents from Unguwan Lalle in Sabon Birni Local Government of Sokoto State. She is 13 while the other one, aged 14, came from Shinkafi in Zamfara State.

“One of the girls was raped in broad daylight when she was sent by one of the women here to collect N300 from one of the marketers. The girl did not know the marketer, so she met some guys and asked them. One of them said he was the person and took her on a motorcycle to a hidden place and raped her. He injured her in the process.

“The wife of Governor Aminu Tambuwal had to intervene by taking the two girls to the hospital, where they were treated and discharged,” she said. 

She noted that one suspect was arrested, and security operatives have been frequenting the site since then.

She also recalled how she averted another rape incident in the camp.

“I was outside one night when I saw one man walking silently to where a teenage girl was sleeping, so I switched on my torchlight and shouted at him and he ran away,” she said.

Binta also lamented that hoodlums were taking advantage of their collapsed fence to steal from them.

“As I am talking to you, we don’t have a place to store water. They steal our jerry-cans, cooking utensils, shoes and blankets,” she alleged.

On whether they were getting support from government, Binta said the last time they received such gesture was two years ago.

“But there was one Hajiya who came to the camp recently and donated food items and cloths. And the owner of the place is assists occasionally.

“We wanted to enroll our children in primary schools but we didn’t have the means. However, some of us who are doing small businesses registered their children in Tsangaya schools.”

She appealed to the state government and wealthy individuals to come to their aid.

A displaced mother of a 10-year-old girl in the camp, Salaha, who was on crutches, speaking to Daily Trust Saturday said she was knocked down by a motorcycle, as a result of which she sustained fracture on her leg.

She said her daughter was in that condition because they could not raise money to treat her properly.

“She was taken to a traditional born setter who did his best, but that was not enough because the girl cannot walk on her own.

“We were advised to take her to the orthopaedic hospital in Wamakko, but we could not afford that,” she said.

She said they came from Gangara, a community sacked by bandits in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of the state.

Another displaced person, Jamila, who is from Sabon Birni, said she relied on alms to feed herself and her children. She likened living in the camp to life in a jungle.

She said she sustained an injury on her forehead in the course of collecting alms at one Alhaji’s residence.

“This is something we go through almost every day in our quest to survive. We don’t have a choice.

“We were just sitting and waiting for Alhaji to come out when one man hit me with a stone on the forehead, for no reason. I was taken to a hospital where I received treatment. Today, I went back to the hospital for further examination,” she said.

When contacted, the director, Disaster Management of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Umar Isa, said they were not aware of the rape cases because they were not reported to them.

“I know there were cases of attempted rape in Ghandi camp but no report of rape reaching us from Ramin Kura Camp,” he said.

He, however, confirmed some of the challenges they face, such as lack of toilet facilities and the issue of theft.

“There was a time thieves entered the camp because it is not fences and stole a ram belonging to one of the displaced persons who is into butchering business,” he said.

Umar said they would soon introduce a skills acquisition programme for the displaced persons.

“They will be trained on various skills, and after their graduation, they will be given a takeoff fund,” he said.

When contacted, the chairman of the Sokoto State Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response Team, Rabi’u Ghandi, confirmed receiving several cases of rape from displaced persons camps in the state.

The spokesman of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Hamza Adamu Illela, also said the command had been receiving cases of rape in the state, adding that their men have been visiting displaced persons camps.