The Federal Government of Nigeria in a fresh report have revealed that the recent flooding that submerged some parts of Nigeria has doubled the number of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, nationwide.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq had also made this disclosure on Saturday at an event commemorating National IDPs Day in Abuja.
Sadiya said the recent flood was a “sad global phenomenon as a result of climate change, which has also doubled the number of displaced persons nationwide and globally.”
It has also been gathered that 3.2 million internally displaced persons were in Nigeria according to the October statistics from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.
And due to the severity of this year’s flood, especially in states like Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi and Jigawa, over 5,000 Nigerians have been sent packing from their homes according to the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Imaan Suleiman, who also noted that the unfortunate situation has pushed more Nigerians into extreme poverty.
In another report, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum said all Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps located within Maiduguri will be closed by Dec. 31.
Zulum made this known while addressing State House correspondents at the end of a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.
The meeting held behind closed doors.
He said that the decision to close the camps in Maiduguri was informed by the improvement in the security situation in the state.
According to him, the government has decided to close the camps to enable the displaced persons return to their ancestral homes.
