Texas Missionary Arrives to Build Emergency Shelters
By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat
[Abuja] For the elites in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja, it is the best of times.
Due to the recession-proof river of government money,there has been a continuous building boom for decades according to Naijatimes. By contrast, for displaced Christian refugees fleeing death and slavery at the hands of vicious insurgents near Lake Chad, it is the worst of times.
For the resilient displaced peoples of the New Kuchingoro Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp in Abuja, even the little that they have has been stripped away last week, TruthNigeria has learned. Yet, a good-hearted patron of the camp in Blanco, Texas has arrived in the nick of time to help the victims.
New Kuchingoro is a shanty town to more than 4,500 internal IDPs chiefly from Gwoza, and Chibok counties, Borno State, about 500 miles east of Abuja near Lake Chad.
Having taken refuge there in Abuja in 2013 during the darkest years of persecution from Boko Haram (Western Learning Forbidden) jihadists, the residents are facing a Federal Capital Police mandate to leave the camp and make available their 10 hectares land for private use, TruthNigeria can confirm.
They had fled their homes due to the relentless kidnapping, mass massacre of the Christian communities and the sacking of their communities by Boko Haram killers.
They have lost loved ones, homes, businesses, churches, farmlands and schools to the terrorists and many came with bullet wounds, TruthNigeria has discovered.
Upon arrival in 2013, the IDPs were forced to build their own dwellings from discarded building materials.
They had little or no food for days; no sanitation; no learning facilities for school-age children and no official aid from the Nigeria government, which has pretended that they are not under the government’s umbrella, according to Premium Times.
Texas to the Rescue
Missionary Mike Arnold, the current Mayor of Blanco City, Texas in USA and the founder of Africa Arise International, felt called to step in. Arnold has helped the New Kuchingoro IDPs access both financial and material assistance from international organizations such as the United Nations Commission For Humanitarian and Refugee (UNHCR) and Letusriseafrica.org
On October 17, according to Arnold, Ms. Hanatu Ango, a seasoned school principal, called Arnold to say that part of the camp had been demolished, including the shack she claims as home to herself and three daughters.
According to him, the IDPs had received a mere four days’ notice signed by a new Abuja Police Commissioner.
Arnold suspects that a powerful individual or firm is trying to possess the land without a care about the fate of the thousands of IDPs that stand the risk of being displaced again, hundreds of miles from their original homes.
“Who stands to gain from the eviction of these helpless people; what alternative is being provided for them?” are questions I have been asking Nigeria government officials, but I am not getting any answers,” he said.
“The international community must acknowledge the IDPs’ plight and demand action from the Nigerian government to protect their rights and dignity,” Arnold told Truthnigeria.
“It is wrong to give a dog a bad name and hang it,” he said.
Arnold is seeking a grant from the FCT for a plot of land for permanent shelters that would house the people whose homes were demolished on Oct. 17, Arnold told TruthNigeria upon landing in Abuja on Oct. 22. “Our first priority is just survival: build temporary shelters for the recently displaced,” Arnold said.
In 2015, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) published a report highlighting the camp’s dire conditions.
Africa Arise established a school in the camp in 2019 providing free education to 350 elementary- and high-school students. Ms. Hanatu serves as head teacher.
In her commitment to assist the displaced children, Hanatu declined a government teaching job that would have placed her on a permanent job and pension after retirement. She chose to remain in the camp, dedicating herself to the kids
Raids by anti-Drugs Agency
Because of the sprawling nature of the camp, law enforcement is difficult, and criminals have managed to infiltrate the shanties exploiting vulnerable youths and girls, a source at the camp told TruthNigeria.
This has led to a raid on the camp in May by the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Arnold’s Intervention
In April 2024, Abuja Commissioner of Police Olatunde Disu, ordered the camp’s demolition. He gave the residents three days’ notice, according to Arnold.
“Africa Arise had to intervene,” said Arnold.
“In April, 2024, I had direct talks with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, and the Abuja Commissioner of Police and appealed to them to stop the exercise for the sake of humanity,” he said.
According to him, they heeded his plea and assured him that the exercise has been halted.
“I have done extensive investigation on the IDPs in New Kuchingoro, and I can affirm that the vast majority are victims of Boko Haram terrorism in Northeast Nigeria,” he said.
“Just eight weeks ago, members of my team accompanied by two leaders of IDP camp of Kuchingoro traveled to Gwoza and Chibok to verify the veracity of the claims of members of the camp and to see the situation on the ground,” he said.
“They identified that former homes of the IDPs were all demolished and the entire community destroyed. The violence is yet to be over,” he added.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh are seasoned reporters based in Kaduna and write for Truth Nigeria.
