3000 IDPs IN DANGER IN KUKA RETA

19^th October, 2015,

PRESS RELEASE:

3000 IDPs IN DANGER IN KUKA RETA

About 3,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) whose camp is in Kuka Reta town are currently in serious danger. Kuka Reta Town is about fifteen (15) kilometers from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State. Reliable sources confirm that the camp has run out of food supply, drinkable water and drugs.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is constrained to raise the alarm on the frightening situation in Kuka Reta IDP camp in view of the dangers inherent in the exposure of IDPs to such inhuman conditions. Apart from hunger, starvation, malnutrition and the likelihood of deaths, diseases such as cholera and diarrhea are likely to spread within the camp.

MURIC is confounded by the enormity of the danger and hardship to which IDPs in Kuka Reta camp are exposed. We condemn this culpable negligence on the part of the authorities. We therefore call on the Yobe State Government, the state’s arm of the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) and all aids groups in the state to address the issue with military dispatch.

In addition, we appeal to international donors and the world community at large to come to the aid of the traumatized people of North East Nigeria as it now appears the Nigerian government alone cannot bring succour to the more than 1.5 million people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.

In conclusion, we reiterate the need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to establish the North East Development Commission (NEDEC) to cushion the effects of economic degradation of the region after four years of brutal attacks, deliberate destruction of infrastructure and the attendant cessation of socio-economic life.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08182119714