The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday s evacuated 5,000 persons faced with starvation from liberated hinterland communities in Dikwa Local Government Area (LGA), Borno.
The affected communities were recently liberated by the Nigerian military after being occupied by suspected Boko Haram insurgents for several months.
NEMA North East Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Kanar, disclosed this to newsmen in Maiduguri.
Kanar said those evacuated were mainly children, women and elderly, who were freed in the recent military operation in the area.
“The people evacuated were virtually imprisoned in their communities as the routes were blocked by members of the insurgents, who captured major towns of Dikwa and Ngala local government areas.
“They were living on small rations as they were compelled to depend on their livestock and farm produce without freedom to engage in trading and commerce with the rest of the world during the occupation,” he said.
According to him those evacuated were camped at Sanda Kyarimi Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, Maiduguri, for proper care.
“Some of the affected persons, who spoke to officials of NEMA, said they had not eaten for about three days and had to trek long distances to get to Dikwa, Headquarters of Dikwa LGA,” Kanar said.
