As Thousands – Including Pregnant Mothers — Suffer Hunger and Disease
By Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani
(Makurdi) Benue’s State Government is stopping reporters from entering the swollen Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi Market, where 4,000 civilians endure deplorable conditions, TruthNigeria has learned. Many there survived the terrorist atrocity on Yelewata June 14.
TruthNigeria correspondents who attempted to visit the camp on Sunday (June 29) were turned away from heavily armed security, numbering between 15 and 20. The guards at the main entrance, blocked journalists, aid workers, and even families of displaced persons from entering.
Their instruction was clear: “No unauthorized access, especially from the media.” Despite this restriction, TruthNigeria reporters gained entry with the help of local clergy.
Misery: Smoke, and Overcrowding
For starving survivors of terrorism inside the camp, the situation is dire. Thousands of displaced persons are packed into makeshift shelters within the market complex. Women cook over open flames, using firewood for fuel as smoke billows into the already stifling air.
The sanitation system is grossly inadequate. Many children bathe outside in plain view due to the insufficient number of bathrooms and toilets. The camp’s existing facilities are simply overwhelmed by the volume of displaced persons.
254 Pregnant and Nursing Mothers Cramped in Tiny Rooms
According to camp volunteers and displaced residents from Yelewata, 70 pregnant women and 184 lactating mothers, totaling 254, live in the camp. Due to the acute shortage of space, as many as 20 expectant mothers are crammed into single rooms designed for six to eight people.
Food, clean water, and medical care are in critically short supply. Mnena Agbur, an aid worker with the Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP), confirmed the camp’s distressing condition: “There are 3,613 people currently living in this camp. The environment is not conducive. The rooms are overcrowded—20 persons to a single room, most of them pregnant or nursing mothers. The camp is in dire need of food and medical support. The inflow of new IDPs makes it impossible for donations to meet the demand.”
“We Are Hungry,” IDPs Cry Out
Some of the displaced women from Yelewata spoke to TruthNigeria about their daily struggles. Josephine Aondona, 33, a pregnant mother of three, fled to Makurdi on foot while seven months pregnant. She was picked up by the military and brought to the camp.
“Sometimes I go days without eating. We eat once a day—if we’re lucky. As a pregnant woman, I need medication and nutritious food, but I have nothing. I feel dizzy all the time. What I need most is food.” Magdalene Ekior, a mother of three and nine months pregnant, fled to escape the Fulani terrorist attacks. Her testimony paints a grim picture of overcrowding and neglect: “We are 20 pregnant women in one room. No fans, no windows, no mosquito nets, and barely enough mattresses. I’m due to give birth soon, but I haven’t had any prenatal checkups. No doctor. No nurse. I haven’t heard from my husband in two weeks—he was left behind in Yelewata.”
A Child’s Cry for Home
Aondu Soo, a nine-year-old pupil from Yelewata, recounted fleeing his home during the attack: “I heard gunshots, so I ran toward the bush. The Nigerian military rescued me and brought me here. I reunited with my mother, but I haven’t seen my father. We don’t have enough to eat,” Soo told TruthNigeria.
“My mother sometimes skips meals just so my brothers and I can eat. Today we had a small portion of eba (starch food)—but mama didn’t eat,” the boy said.
“I refused to eat unless she did. I just want to go back home,” he said, breaking down in tears.
Fear of Disease Outbreak Looms
The poor sanitary conditions are dehumanizing and pose an imminent public health risk.
“We sometimes go two or three days without bathing. There’s no proper place to defecate,” according to Ifa Samuel Terhemba, 25, a student at Benue State University and a displaced resident of Yelewata, told TruthNigeria.
“We’ve used nearby bushes before. If nothing changes, we could see outbreaks of cholera or typhoid. The camp is not livable,” Terhemba went on to say.
Despite the suffering they left behind in Yelewata, the majority expressed their desire to return to it once conditions improve. “I want to go back to farm,” said Ifa Samuel. “This is the planting season. If I can’t plant now, I won’t have crops to sell—and that means no tuition fee for school.”
Magdalene Ekior echoed similar fears about her pregnancy: “I might lose this child if I stay here. There’s no proper medication for pregnant women. That’s why I must go back—even if it’s risky.”
With press access to the camp stifled, the plight of the IDPs in Makurdi’s International Market Camp remains hidden from the world. Humanitarian organizations and civil society actors are calling on the Benue State Government to lift restrictions and allow unimpeded access to humanitarian aid, health workers, and journalists. Until that happens, thousands of displaced Nigerian citizens remain sealed off—trapped between terror and neglect.
Mike Odeh James and Ekani Olikita are Conflict Reporters with TruthNigeria
