Spokesman of displaced persons in Bali, Emmanuel Kegh and Bali Tiv traditional ruler, Chief David Gbaar, who confirmed this to newsmen who visited the camp yesterday, said the deaths were recorded between March and now.
Kegh said 50 children died due to outbreak of diseases such as cholera, malaria and measles at the camp, while the remaining 20 were adults.
According to him, about 13 women have so far given birth to children in the camp since it opened in March this year, following sporadic attacks on Tiv villages in the area.
Kegh said the lack of drugs and health personnel at the camp were responsible for the high death toll recorded.
“Our people have continued to die because the state government has deliberately refused to come to our aid; living in the camp is very painful. When we first came here around March, SEMA gave us relief materials and later NEMA and people from the Defence Headquarters came as well. Since then, no aid has come our way again,” he said.
Kegh said life is currently unbearable for people at the camp and that they cannot return to their homes, as killings are still going on.
He also faulted what he called the lukewarm attitude of security operatives in the areas, adding that they only conduct patrols within the town and neglect “the hinterlands where most of the attacks are being carried out.”
An elder at the camp, Samson Augustine, lamented that government has not done enough to end the crisis, so as to enable them return to their communities. He said their houses and farmlands have been taken over by strangers.
Bali Tiv traditional head, David Gbaar, said about 126,000 Tiv people have been forced to relocate from their communities in Bali Local Government Area of the state, adding that total peace is yet to be restored to the area.
When contacted, Bali council chairman, Andy Yerima, confirmed that there were outbreak of diseases at the camp and that he assisted in procuring drugs to bring the situation under control.
He said it would be difficult for the state government alone to cater for all the needs of displaced persons in the state, calling on the federal government to come to their aid.
When contacted, Executive Secretary of Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Nulvaga Dan Agbu, said he could not comment on the development, as he has been away on sick leave.
