Benue State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde, has decried the infiltration of criminals into the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp established for victims of the recent Yelwata attack.
The camp, located at the International Market along George Akume Way in Makurdi, has reportedly been compromised by members of the host community and market women.
Addressing journalists in Makurdi, Kunde revealed that the camp was burgled on Friday night, with non-food items stolen. He said market women were also seen buying food meant for the displaced persons.
“We discovered a lot of infiltrators in the camp. After investigating the protest that occurred, we found that criminals and some residents of the host community were responsible,” Kunde said.
“We arrived at the camp by 4am to fish out these elements and discovered they had entered through a collapsed section of the fence and stolen mattresses.”
He further revealed that some women, pretending to be lactating mothers, had borrowed babies to gain access to relief materials. “When they were asked to breastfeed, we found that some had no milk, confirming they had borrowed babies to deceive us.”
Kunde stated that about 50 fake IDPs had been apprehended following the scrutiny.