The sad story of 21-year-old Philomena Anakula is a common denominator among pregnant women in internally displaced camps at Agagbe, Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. Etched in their hearts is the fear of losing their children to the cold hands of death ravaging their camps, as healthcare is a scarce commodity.
The displaced persons numbering over 700,000 had fled their villages and are scattered all over public facilities in the local government. They reside in places like RCM Primary School, St Francis Xavier Secondary School, Police Station, Sisters Convent, and St Patrick’s Primary School camps all in Agagbe. But none of the camps can be said to be fit for human habitation.
Those who are lucky among the displaced persons found shelter in classroom blocks that house between 40 and 60 people including children. Those who were not so fortunate had to erect makeshift homes; using light wood and mosquito nets to serve as roofing sheets.
Anytime it rains, the occupants take shelter in the corridor of classroom blocks, many of them have to remain standing as long as the shower lasts, and then they return to the makeshifts to answer the call of nature (sleep).
Philomena was one of the thousands of Benue indigenes who fled their native land in Tse Agber after repeated deadly attacks by herdsmen who also took over many flourishing farming communities in the state.
The 21-year-old woman narrated to that, she and her husband, Anakula fled their village in 2022 after herdsmen invaded, killed and maimed several people.
At the Agagbe IDP camp, Philomena became pregnant with her second child. Here in the camp, no medical facilities are available and she could not get ante-natal care.
Howbeit, on Saturday, September 2, she was delivered a set of twins but lost one of them.
Explaining her plight in hushed tones in an interview with , she admitted that she did not attend any ante-natal clinic throughout her pregnancy.
She said, “To eat is not easy not to mention having good medical treatment. This morning, (September 2), I went into labour and it was the elderly women around that surrounded me and took the delivery of the babies.
“But I don’t know what happened that the second baby died. I first gave birth to the one I am carrying but the second one died. I didn’t have complications; so, I cannot say what led to the death of the second baby.’’
There are rising fears among inmates of the Agagbe IDP camps, especially pregnant women, because of the deaths of newborns and children. But besides the unhealthy situation in the camps, pregnant women hardly attend ante-natal clinics nor do they take ailing children to the hospital.
Exposing the terrible conditions in the five camps, the Camp Chairman, Terna Jacob, said the settlements were overcrowded with inmates having no access to healthcare.
This, he said, was responsible for the outbreak of measles and chicken pox in the camps.
Jacob lamented that many children were battling with chickenpox while 10 were down with measles.
It was also gathered that no fewer than 19 people, comprising 11 adults and eight children had so far died in Agagbe camps since 2021 due to unhealthy conditions of the settlements.
On Tuesday night of September 5, a middle-aged woman identified as Nyive Kwaghsar of room 2, RCM primary school IDP camp in Agagbe, complained of fever and was rushed to St Francis Primary Health Care, Agagbe to be treated. Kwaghsar, unfortunately, did not survive it as she gave up the ghost the following day.
“Also, a few weeks ago, two pregnant women had stillbirths within one day while ten children were down with measles and many others battling with chickenpox,” Jacob lamented.
Among those who have lost their lives in the camps were; Kita Kyenge, who died the same day with his son Igbavenda Kita; Ayande Wantor, Sule Chiev, Zwa Anayila, and Mbaumbur Anakosu. Most of them reportedly died after exhibiting symptoms of cholera; vomiting and diarrhea; just like Kwaghsar who died on Wednesday, September 6.
Women are on the receiving end in the camps. On Saturday, September 2, a nursing mother identified as Mlumum Amos, who was bleeding after giving birth to a baby, was rushed to St Francis Primary Healthcare.
Amos narrated her ordeal through the camp manager who translated Tiv’s language to English for . She explained that she was put to bed on August 25, but she continued to bleed until she was rushed to the health center.
“I gave birth to a baby boy on Friday, August 25, 2023, but blood did not stop. It continued until last week Thursday when they brought me to St. Francis Primary HealthCare. I thank God because the camp chairman came to my rescue. He told me that part of the money a priest sent to the camp was what he used to take care of me.
“This is what we have been passing through in the camps here since 2021. We appeal to Nigerians and the Federal Government to come to our aid,” Amos lamented as she sobbed.
At the time of filing this report, there were 95 pregnant women in all five camps in Agagbe and 105 nursing mothers.
One of the pregnant women, 30-year-old Joy Ataagh, who already had four children, expressed fear as she said she had put her trust in God for safe delivery.
“No one will not be afraid as a result of the recent developments in our camps here. You know it’s terrible to be pregnant for nine months and have a stillbirth. There are no good medical facilities here and our nutrition is poor. These are some of the things we need to make our babies healthy. But I have faith in God that those of us who are expectant mothers in all the five camps will deliver safely and have our babies alive,” Ataagh said.
Thirty-two-year-old Tyozua Mwuese said she has lost her peace due to several incidents of stillbirths by some women at the camps. “All I do now is to keep praying and believing God to intervene on my behalf,” she sighed.
“The situation is very pathetic. We don’t have access to medical treatment and there is no money to take good care of ourselves. You can imagine how we have turned toilets built by one of the international organizations, édecins Sans Frontières, into a delivery centre.
“We live in a makeshift house made of wood and mosquito nets. We are in a rainy season. Our children are exposed to cold weather. Mosquitoes are on the prowl; no potable water,” Mwuese lamented.
Despite the squalid condition of the camps, the residents have not imbibed the culture of family planning.
A youth leader, Kungu Vincent, who has two wives and five children all living in one of the camps, blamed his ordeal on nature. “You know nature does not consider people’s misfortune, when it beckons, you yield to it,’’ he said.
Narrating his ordeal in the hands of herdsmen three years ago, Vincent, who said the incident was still fresh in his memory, stated that he lost his brother to the herders.
“Everything I had was destroyed. As a farmer who cultivated yam, cassava, corn, groundnut, and rice, I would say that life was kind to me, at least, then. I could take care of my two wives and five children and afford to send the children to school,” he said.
Vincent narrates, “But one day in 2021, everything came crashing right in my face and I lost my house and farmland to marauding herdsmen. That day, we just heard a shout from someone in the community that these people (herdsmen) were around. Pronto, everybody rushed to pick what his or her hands could get and we started running but before you know it, some who could not leave immediately were caught and killed.
The camp chairman explained that the Medicins San Frontieres was the only organisation that had been treating inmates in the past one and a half years.
While applauding the international organisation for its service, the camp regretted that its services are limited to the treatment of malaria and diarrhea. This, he explained, made those who were down with measles and chickenpox resort to native herbs.
As a temporary measure, the camp chairman pleaded with the state government to settle the inmates in one camp as against the five camps in Agagbe, stating that it would help the camp officials to focus and give maximum attention to the displaced persons instead of running from one camp to another.
“If there is one thing we demand from federal and state governments, it is to return us to our ancestral homes and to provide adequate security for our return, I don’t think we are asking for too much,” he said.
All the inmates and the camp chairman appealed to the government at all levels, particularly, the Federal Government to come to their aid by restoring peace in their communities as they were eager to return home.
Officials of non-government organisations that have been assisting the inmates said it would be an understatement to say the conditions of the camps were horrible.
The branch secretary of Nigeria Red Cross, Anthony Abah, described the condition of the inmates in Agagbe as terrible, adding that it needed urgent attention in the areas of health and shelter especially.
Abah, who spoke to our correspondent, said, “We visited the place (Agagbe ) last week and we have our volunteers on the ground trying to see how we can assist them in terms of disaster management and health care. We are providing support to them. We also support health but not doing much in that area but we know that they have a lot of health challenges there.
“What the Nigeria Red Cross is advocating is to see how we can talk to more partners to come in and help the people because the humanitarian crisis in that area is becoming worse day by day. We are begging for more partners like the United Nations, and international partners to come to our aid.
Also, the state representative of the Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria, Adakole Daniel, decried the pathetic situation of inmates in Agagbe camps, noting that the displaced persons in Agagbe had long been neglected by the state and federal governments and other stakeholders.
He traced the crisis in Agagbe areas to herdsmen attacks and described the plight of the displaced persons as the worst among others in the state but regretted that nothing had been done to help the plight of inmates until recently when an outbreak of measles and chicken pox was reported.
He called on individuals and local and international donors to come to the aid of the Agagbe IDP inmates especially in the aspect of shelter, health, food, and security.
