Close to 65,000 persons have been displaced in Borno and Yobe states as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, according to records at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

At least 17,000 people displaced by Boko Haram attacks have arrived in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, Senator Ali Ndume said yesterday.

“The people were initially displaced from Gwoza [southeast of Borno] in August when Boko Haram attacked the area, slaughtering people,” Senator Ndume told journalists in Maiduguri.

“Many of the residents fled to neighboring Uba, Gulak and Madagali in Adamawa State but the series of fresh attacks on these towns forced the IDPs to flee again into the bushes where they later found their way to Yola, Adamawa capital,” he explained.

Ndume said the displaced civilians were conveyed to Maiduguri in buses and trucks, adding that they are now kept in the various IDPs camps in the provincial capital.

More than 25,000 persons have fled to Maiduguri since August after Boko Haram raided communities in the central and southern parts of Borno, swelling up the population of IDPs in the already crowded camps. There are at least six displaced persons camps in Maiduguri.

In Adamawa IDPs increase on daily basis due to recent attacks in the southern part of the state.

The three northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe are currently under state of emergency imposed by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan since last year.

In recent months, Boko Haram has seized control of several towns and villages in the three states, declaring them part of an “Islamic caliphate.”

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden” in Nigeria’s local Hausa Language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.

The group later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.

In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks on places of worship and government institutions, along with thousands of deaths.

Boko Haram has been designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey and the United States.

•Adapted from an Anadolu Agency report. Photo shows someof the displaced persons.

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