CITY NEWS 500 FCT camped IDPs set to relocate

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said that about 500 Internally Displaced Persons camping in different locations in Abuja are ready to return to Borno State.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Director General of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, said the agency has concluded arrangements to relocate the first batch of 500 IDPs who have indicated interest to go back home.

He said over 10,000 IDPs are squatting in 31 different locations in the FCT, with the agency taking care of their welfare and ensuring their security.

He explained that the law does not allow NEMA or FEMA to set up camps for the displaced persons in the FCT as such the IDPs could not be housed at a designated FEMA-run camp.

Idriss assured that the IDPs have been given psycho-social support to help them overcome the trauma they had experienced.

He also debunked the allegation that members of staff of FEMA have been diverting and misappropriating relief materials meant for the IDPs, saying “by our training, we are made to understand that what we do is provide humanitarian services to people who need them. So what belongs to people in need, we always give them and we are even taught that when people are displaced, even if you don’t have what to give to them, you have to find a way of sourcing relief materials for them.”