Following a fresh round of armed bandit attacks, thousands of people in some parts of Nasarawa State have been forced to vacate their homes on foot, leaving entire towns abandoned and residents homeless.
As panic spread throughout the afflicted communities, eyewitness reports and video footage obtained on Friday showed lengthy columns of displaced villagers—mostly women, children, and the elderly—trekking along a main rural route in search of safety.
Local sources contended that the scope of the humanitarian catastrophe is significantly worse than is being reported, disputing official statistics of persons displaced.
“There are more than 3,000 people that have been sacked, but that number is not accurate. These people are more than 6,000 or 7,000,” one witness said in the footage obtained by SaharaReporters, pointing to the continuous stream of fleeing residents.
The witness characterised the scenario as chaotic and extremely upsetting, identifying the area as settlements surrounding the Green River axis in Nasarawa.
“We have been driving for several minutes and people are still coming out. They are leaving everything behind. Many of them don’t even know where they are heading,” he added.
The video showed displaced families travelling with infants, suitcases, and whatever possessions they could manage, with no security personnel in sight.
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In addition to causing widespread displacement, the attacks have shown how vulnerable rural communities are to armed groups’ frequent intrusions.
“Most of these people don’t have anywhere to sleep. They have no shelter. This is very, very bad,” the witness lamented, adding that many who remained in their villages might still be unaware of the scale of the unfolding crisis.
As of the of filing this report, the Nasarawa state government had not issued any statement concerning the issue.
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