I was an Internally Displaced Person - SGF says

Speaking at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit currently holding in Abuja today, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Babachir David Lawal talked about how he became an internally displaced person after Boko haram members attacked his village. He said

"Five local governments in the northern senatorial district (of Adamawa) were completely taken over by insurgents. Two local governments in the central senatorial district, mine and the next one on its way to Yola were completely taken over by insurgents. My house was the headquarters of one of the Amir or whatever they call themselves. So, for six months, I was an internally displaced person.

 

Within that period, four people, my younger ones and others were on admission at the hospital in Mubi, the next big town to my own, where there’s some presence of general hospital. When Boko Haram entered Mubi, all the people had to evacuate the hospital and run into the mountains, no matter the degree of your sickness. My younger brother whose children were in that hospital, was visiting; he had to evacuate. For two weeks, we didn’t know where they were, because they ran into the mountains. The telephones, the base stations had been blown by Boko Haram. In any case, the battery had run out of the telephones. We didn’t know whether they were eating or whether they were dead. We didn’t know where they were. The total number of cattle in my village (where) everybody was a livestock keeper was 385. When people had to run for their lives, the last thing they would think about is cows, goats and chickens"he said