The Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU) has called on President Bola Tinubu to as a matter of urgency, address the humanitarian crisis in Benue State Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps with hundreds of out-of-school children and many teenage pregnancies as a result of gunmen attacks.
ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, made the call during the union’s humanitarian outreach to IDP camps at the Abagana in Makurdi, the state capital, where he expressed hope that the Federal Government would do better this time as Nigerians are facing hardship.
Represented by Profs Ralph Ofokwu and Stellamarris Okey, the ASUU leader lamented the inability to safely return the IDPs to their villages and homes now being occupied by armed herdsmen. The ASUU officials also brought food and clothing items to the IDPs.
While officials of the state emergency management agency assured the ASUU officials of transparency in sharing the items the IDPs, leaders of the displaced persons said they want to go home if security were provided to clear armed herdsmen from their homesteads.
Since January 2018, IDPs across 12 camps in Benue fled their homes after killer herdsmen attacked the Logo and Guma local government areas, amongst other parts of the state.