Benue residents besiege flood victims’ camps for palliatives

No fewer than 1,800 residents of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, have invaded the NKST Church camp designated for flood victims requesting palliatives.

Our correspondent who visited the NKST Church’s displaced camp at Wadatta on Tuesday reports that several people who were not affected by the flood have trooped to the camp to register for relief materials.

Some of them told our correspondent that all entreaties to be registered by the officials of the State Emergency Management Agency were rebuffed.

Our correspondent learnt that the agency had distributed mattresses, 25kg bag of rice and mosquito net each to all the registered victims of the flood.
Some of the people who spoke to our correspondent at the NKST Church camp accused SEMA officials of ignoring their pleas, alleging that their houses had already been taken over by water.

Grace Noah, who claimed to be a resident of New Garage, said water had washed away her property.

Asked where her children were, Madam Noah said, “My children are at home while I come here to register but SEMA officials have refused to register me and my children.
“They were saying that there is no flood in my area but I asked them to go with me to the house and see that water has washed our belongings.”
Similarly, a mother of four children, Favour Terfa, said water had entered their compound and destroyed some of their belongings but accused SEMA officials of not attending to their plight and registering them.

“I have been coming here since Monday but SEMA officials refused to register some of us. We saw them with relief materials such as mattresses, 25kg bags of rice and mosquito nests but they refused to give us, saying until they assessed our houses.

“We have asked them to follow us and assess the place but they have declined, whereas we saw them sharing bags of rice to some people yesterday, (Monday) and the rest they took them back instead of sharing them to us.”

But the camp manager, James Iorhumn, who spoke to our correspondent at the camp, said over 2,000 people thronged the camp on Monday and that only 150 households who were assessed and found out that they were truly affected by the flood were registered and given palliatives.

He said, “Between Saturday and Sunday, we captured 150 households who were truly victims of flooding and we have distributed 150 mattresses, 25kg bag of rice to each family and mosquito nests.

“All those people complaining, we have asked them to go to their houses for assessment but they have refused to go. The point is that some of them only rushed down here when they heard that we were giving palliatives to flood victims.
“But SEMA has devised a means to identify victims of the flood. Our officials are out assessing the areas, that is the reason I told them to move to their houses and stay there where our staff will assess the place. Those who are truly affected will be given a token which they will bring here and other camps before they can be registered but they have refused to oblige.

“We know many of them who live at high places where flood can not touch but they have decided to invade the camps and get registered so that they can be given palliatives and this is as a result of economic hardship.