No fewer than 200 babies were born by women in the Benue State Internally Displaced Persons camps in 2022.

This was made known by Dr Emmanuel Shior, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Wednesday.

Speaking in Makurdi during the agency’s monthly distribution of relief materials to the IDPs, Mr Shior said: “We have more than 200 births known to the agency in 2022.”

Mr Shior said the 200 babies were the ones whose births were registered officially and attributed the figure to the fact that most of the internally-displaced persons stayed with their partners in the camps.

He added that more than two million persons were staying in various IDP camps in the state.

“We also recorded several deaths of IDPs either within the camps or outside. Some died through sickness, while others died from attacks unleashed on them while trying to live their normal lives,” he said.

Mr Shior expressed regret that in spite of efforts by security agencies to end attacks in Benue communities, the situation had remained unabated.

He said also that the state’s Volunteer Guards would assist security agencies in providing security at the IDPs’ camps during the festive period.

Mr Shior said that the agency would distribute 4,000 bags of rice, 5,000 cartons of noodles, condiments and other items to all IDPs in the state to provide some succour. 

(NAN)