...18,000 Nigerians now refugees in Cameroon - Senate

The Senate yesterday said over 18,000 Nigerians displaced from Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State following the crisis that enveloped the area are now refuges in Cameroon.

The revelation was made during yesterday’s plenary when a motion by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC, Taraba) and 13 others on the crisis was debated.

Moving the motion, Yusuf (Taraba Central) described the crisis which happened from June 17 to 25, as the most devastating to ever in the area.

“Due to the barbaric killings, wanton and arsenic destruction of settlements and other properties by the militia, many have been rendered homeless and are presently in various IDP camps in Nguroje, Gembu, Mayo Ndaga, Dorofi, etc in Nigeria, and as refugees in the Republic of Cameroon. Many lives have been lost, many cattle have been hacked, many others rustled and not less than 18,000 as refugees in the Republic of Cameroon,” he said.

Contributing, Senator Malam Ali Wakili (APC, Bauchi) said the killings were more gruesome than that of the Boko Haram. “The GOC said even the Boko Haram spared children but in Mambilla children and women were not spared,” he said.

The Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP, Taraba) said the killings were as a result of failure of governance at all levels in the country.

In a resolution, the Senate directed the Ad-hoc Committee on Internal Crisis to investigate the causes of the crisis and report back in four weeks.

It also urged the Federal Government to set up a judicial panel to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The Senate also urged the Federal Government to situate a formidable military base in the affected communities and to direct the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the survivors and their families now in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps.