The SchoolMother (Dr Bisi Esuruoso) and Sanusi Ademola With about 18 million out-of-school children in Nigeria and 1.8 million at risk of severe acute malnutrition, the renewed violence across many states in the country worsens the plight of children. Two of our reporters’ recent visit to an IDP camp in Benue exposed the keg of gunpowder Nigeria now dangerously sits on. To mark this year’s World Children’s Day, the SchoolMother (Dr Bisi Esuruoso) and Sanusi Ademola report the precarious situation at the International New Market IDP Camp in Makurdi. On a sunny noon on Saturday, 18 October, at an Internally Displaced Persons’ camp located within the International New Market, around Tamen, Abu King Shuluwa Road in Makurdi, Benue State capital, North-central Nigeria, two young girls, probably between six and eight years of age, were busy struggling to set empty pots on fire. The whole scene felt oppressive, suffocating, and relentless, like nature’s alarm bell screaming for attention as flies swarmed everywhere, buzzing around, landing on anything. The smell hit like a wall- sharp, sour, and clinging, with a murky, sludge‑filled drainage and a faecal heap within a short distance. Open area that serves as refuse dump and toilets at the camp“Since we were brought here around July, the toilets had already been filled up, and no one had come to evacuate them. The space in front of the unoccupied rows of shops is dedicated to open defecation and serves as our refuse dump,” said Suega Ngunna, a nursing mother at the camp. The two girls – Theresa and Elizabeth (not real names) are friends who were united by fate as victims of the massacre that occurred between 13 and 14 June in, an agrarian community in the Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State. The attack claimed many lives, destroying buildings, schools, healthcare services, and even access to places of worship. While authorities claimed a death toll of 45, locals told us it could be more than 100.Newspapers Theresa and Elizabeth are among more than 2,000 households ‘dumped’ at the makeshift camp by the Benue State Government after they had been sacked from their village by marauding bandits. Hunger in camp Like many in the camp, the girls had not taken their breakfast on this day; yet, it was almost time for lunch. They said their parents had gone out earlier in the morning to work for families within the neighbourhood to raise money for food. These girls’ age mates were also outside the camp begging for alms, as many of them claimed they were hungry and needed help. Not long after, the government officials arrived with a truckload of akpu, a staple Nigerian food made from fermented cassava, and families trooped out en masse to queue for their first meal of the day.However, many were reluctant to join the queue because they said they were tired of eating the same food almost everyday. After four months in the camp, the girls said they were already traumatised and had no interest in many things. Schools abandoned, dreams shattered, they said life had been hard in the camp, and they were eager to return to their village to see what was left of their school, playground, and their parents’ farms, where they could eat what they loved and sing the new national anthem, which they said they had finished memorising before the violent attack. This is exactly the fate of many of their mates scattered across the various IDP camps nationwide due to renewed violence in many parts of Nigeria. Just on Monday, 25 female students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga town, Danko Wasagu area of Kebbi State, Northwestern Nigeria, were abducted by gunmen. The school’s Vice-Principal, Hassan Makuku, was violently shot dead while reportedly resisting the attackers. What statistics show According to the Moving Minds Alliance (MMA), a global multi-stakeholder coalition advocating for the integration of Early Childhood Development (ECD) into every crisis response, as of October 2025, Nigeria is facing a significant displacement crisis. Quoting the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other government sources, MMA said more than 3.6 million people have been forcibly displaced in Nigeria. This includes 142,557 refugees and asylum-seekers, and a staggering 3.57 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), those forced to flee their homes but remain within the country, the highest in West Africa,” the organisation said, adding that more than half of this figure are children. It also noted that 1.8 million children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, and “over 18 million children nationwide are out of school, many due to conflict, insecurity and displacement.” Elizabeth Kelvin recalled when things changed, seemingly overnight. The 30-year-old had grown up farming across the sprawling Guma Local Government Area in Benue State, and the thick forests of her Yelwata community had fed her people from time immemorial. “My parents are commercial farmers, and my siblings and I helped them. That’s how we were brought up,” she told Sanusi Ademola. When the attackers struck in Yelwata, Ms Kelvin was pregnant. She recounted how the first round of gunshots came in the middle of the night. “I heard faint footsteps at first. Then, gunshots and that was it – boom, boom, and boom everywhere,” she said in a muffled tone. Her family and neighbours began to scamper for safety. Her husband, children, and some of his family members are without homes, too. They are among about 6,680 people currently staying temporarily at the IDP camp in Makurdi. “We have more than 2,334 households in this camp and almost everyone has the same fading tune: hunger,” said the camp’s secretary, David Ukeyime. Mr Ukeyime lost his wife and daughter to the violent crisis, noting that the hapless girl was butchered by the assailants. According to Ms Kelvin, due to poor healthcare at the IDP camp, her child, now one month old, suffered what she described as a dislocation during childbirth, saying she was rushed to a hospital for a cesarean section when she was in labour. She said the nightmare of the attack that shook her village worsened her childbirth experience. “I am more worried for my children. The baby has a shorter leg than the other, which is swollen. Her sister, a three-year-old, could not continue school. I couldn’t become a nurse due to poverty, so I had always dreamt my daughter would follow this path. Now, I wonder how this will come into reality. This will not happen as long as the place we call home remains unsafe,” Ms Kelvin said. Another IDP, Ngunna Suega, was pregnant when the tragedy struck her community. She said Nado, her first daughter, had alerted her of the impending danger but she dismissed the poor girl, thinking the girl was merely “sleep talking.” But the reality soon dawned on her, as their house went up in flames, and the family had to escape, stepping on butchered body parts. “I heard faint footsteps at first. Then, gunshots and that was it – boom, boom, and boom everywhere,” she said in a muffled tone. Her family and neighbours began to scamper for safety. Her husband, children, and some of his family members are without homes, too. They are among about 6,680 people currently staying temporarily at the IDP camp in Makurdi. “We have more than 2,334 households in this camp and almost everyone has the same fading tune: hunger,” said the camp’s secretary, David Ukeyime. Mr Ukeyime lost his wife and daughter to the violent crisis, noting that the hapless girl was butchered by the assailants. According to Ms Kelvin, due to poor healthcare at the IDP camp, her child, now one month old, suffered what she described as a dislocation during childbirth, saying she was rushed to a hospital for a cesarean section when she was in labour. She said the nightmare of the attack that shook her village worsened her childbirth experience. “I am more worried for my children. The baby has a shorter leg than the other, which is swollen. Her sister, a three-year-old, could not continue school. I couldn’t become a nurse due to poverty, so I had always dreamt my daughter would follow this path. Now, I wonder how this will come into reality. This will not happen as long as the place we call home remains unsafe,” Ms Kelvin said. Another IDP, Ngunna Suega, was pregnant when the tragedy struck her community. She said Nado, her first daughter, had alerted her of the impending danger but she dismissed the poor girl, thinking the girl was merely “sleep talking.” But the reality soon dawned on her, as their house went up in flames, and the family had to escape, stepping on butchered body parts. Post navigation THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE AMOS FAMILY: WHEN TRADITION BECOMES BONDAGE ANLCA: Court Affirms Bola Ashiru as Chairman.
