The Benue State Government has confirmed the arrest of 50 fake Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the International Market located along George Akume Way in Makurdi, the state capital.
The State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mr Aondowase Kunde, disclosed this on Saturday in Makurdi.
Kunde stated that criminals had infiltrated the IDP camp established for victims of the Yelwata attack.
He revealed that 50 fake displaced persons were apprehended, adding that individuals from the host community and local market women had also infiltrated the camp.
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According to him, the criminals broke into the camp on Friday night and stole some non-food items, while some market women had begun entering the camp to buy food items that were distributed to the displaced persons.
“We have been having issues in the camp for the past two days, and we discovered a lot of infiltrators.
“Following the protest, we conducted investigations and found that the perpetrators were criminals and people from the host community in Makurdi.
“So, we decided to arrive at the camp by 4 a.m. today (Saturday) to identify the culprits and discovered that they had stolen mattresses by gaining access through a collapsed section of the fence.
“We also found that some market women had started coming into the camp to buy rice and other food items distributed to the IDPs.
“In addition, some women claiming to be lactating mothers borrowed babies from outside the camp to gain access after learning that we prioritised pregnant and nursing mothers.
“When these so-called lactating mothers were asked to breastfeed the babies, it became clear there was no milk flow,” the commissioner said.
