In northern Nigeria, displaced people leave camps for gold-mining sites

In northern Nigeria, internally displaced people are leaving camps to go to artisanal gold-mining sites to earn a living, the daily Leadership reports. Thousands of families, driven from their communities by attacks and kidnappings, remain confronted with hunger, precarious living conditions and persistent insecurity, with no prospect of rebuilding.

In Kaduna State, hundreds of families displaced by banditry and kidnappings in the Chikun, Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru and Kachia local government areas are still struggling to rebuild their lives years after fleeing their villages. In Ungwan Zawu, in the Gonin Gora area, families from Rumanan Gbagyi and other Birnin Gwari communities have lived as refugees since 2019. In Mararaban Rido, about 4,000 displaced people from Chikun, Kachia and Kajuru live in difficult conditions, according to Adam Sule, a displaced person who became chairman of the displaced people of the local government area. He said families face food shortages, the loss of their livelihoods and psychological trauma, with some children having dropped out of school for lack of means.

The village head of Mararaban Rido, Auta Alkali Ganyi, acknowledged the prolongation of displacement, specifying that some families had spent between five and seven years away from their original communities. He added that the state government was pursuing a housing programme for vulnerable families and strengthening the state vigilante service to improve security. In Benue State, 14 displaced people's camps are listed, while residents of Katsina attribute their displacement to banditry.