A group, Global Society for Middle Belt Heritage, has urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the more than 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Mangu Local Government of Plateau.

Jerry Datim, president of the group, made the call at a news conference on Thurday in Jos.

Mr Datim said that 42 villages in Mangu were recently attacked by gunmen, scores killed and over 30,000 persons, particularly women and children, currently displaced.

The president, who decried the plights of the displaced persons, called for urgent attention toward ameliorating their pains.

“You are aware that on April 14, three villages in Mangu local government area were attacked and six people killed.

“Similarly, on May 15, gunmen also attacked 39 villages in the same locality and we buried many dead bodies in a mass grave after those attacks.

“Currently, over 30, 000 persons are displaced and scattered in different locations in the state.

“So, we call on NEMA and other relevant agencies to carry out their constitutional responsibilities and attend to the IDPs to cushion their current hardship,” he called

Mr Datim, who also decried the inability of students in the affected communities to go school due to the increasing security challenges, called on goverment and security agencies to proffer lasting solution to the menace.

“We also want to bring to your notice that our children in primary, secondary and even tertiary institutions can’t go to school.

“The ones in secondary school have missed the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and similar examinations due to the forceful migration of the people to IDP camps.

“We also call on government to address this situation so that our people, who are largely farmers, can return to their ancestral homes in peace,” he said.

(NAN)