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Cameroon Returnees: Adamawa Records 300 Births
No fewer than 300 successful births have been recorded in Fufore Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp hosting Nigerians evacuated from Republic of Cameroon in the past two years.
The Camp Manager and an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Mr Terry Igue, made this known last Saturday while receiving a joint delegation of ECOWAS Parliament and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on tour of IDPs camps and areas affected by insurgency in Adamawa.
Igue said the camp was opened in 2015 with an initial population of over 5,000 people mostly from Borno, but reduced to 1,790 victims of insurgency following the evacuation of some of the IDPs to Borno.
He said the camp, which has a clinic, recorded over 300 successful delivery, adding that referral cases from the camp to other tertiary health centres in Yola used to be handled by an international organisation, the International Rescue.
He said the organisation had left creating a vacuum on healthcare delivery in the camp.
Igue said that the camp has 252 tents and a school run by the Nigerian Army Education Corp.
He said the camp authorities had stopped cooking for the IDPs and instead give respective families in the camp bags of assorted grains including rice, soya beans, masa vita and maize on monthly basis to prepare their own food.
“Here we supply the IDPs with dry ratio on monthly basis,” Igue said.
Representatives of the IDPs, including Malam Amsami Goni, Mrs Safaratu Ayuba and Mr Emmanuel Gajau, who spoke at the occasion lauded government and other stakeholders for their support to the camp.
They, however, appealed for clothes, detergents, mattresses and condiments for soup for the IDPs.
“We also want intervention in the area of secondary education for our children.
“Any child going to secondary school need about N20,000; as IDPs where can we get such amount to sponsor our children to secondary school? We want government and organizations like you to look into this,” Goni said.
In their respective remarks, the leader of ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Sadiq Ibrahim, and that of UNHCR, Mr Rogers Hollo, said they were on a joint mission to interact with the IDPs for on-the-spot assessment of their problems for broader solution.
They said the mission would visit other affected states and countries within the ECOWAS for such assessment.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.