— Council pays medical bills, distributes relief materials
By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto
SOKOTO: Families displaced by recent terrorist attacks in Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State are battling hunger, trauma and uncertainty, even as the local government council intensifies efforts to cushion their suffering.
The attacks, which reportedly claimed lives and destroyed shops, vehicles and food reserves, forced hundreds of residents of Kebbe, Ungushi, Girkau, Umbutu, Asarara, Nasarawa and other affected communities to flee their homes.
Many of the displaced residents are currently taking refuge in communities within Kebbe and neighbouring Jega Local Government Area of Kebbi State, away from their homes and sources of livelihood.
In response to the humanitarian crisis, the Kebbe Local Government Council has commenced the distribution of emergency relief materials to affected households while also taking responsibility for the medical treatment of victims wounded during the attacks.
The Chairman of Kebbe Local Government Area, Alhaji Musa Garba Kuchi, disclosed that the council had so far distributed 240 bags of 29kg garri, 25 bags of groundnut cake, popularly known as kuli-kuli, and 12 bags of salt to displaced residents.
He said the intervention was aimed at addressing the immediate food needs of families who were forced to abandon their communities following the attacks and destruction of their livelihoods.
According to him, the council also distributed 200 insecticide-treated mosquito nets, 200 rubber mats, 200 plastic kettles, 200 plastic bowls and other essential household items to the victims.
Kuchi said the intervention was not merely a relief gesture but an urgent response to the humanitarian consequences of insecurity.
He stressed that the council could not fold its arms while residents who had lost their homes and livelihoods struggled to survive.
In a related development, the chairman disclosed that the local government was currently footing the medical bills of 10 victims wounded in the attacks and receiving treatment at the state-owned Orthopaedic Hospital, Wamakko, and other medical facilities.
He said the council was paying for all prescribed drugs and other medications required by the patients, adding that the victims were responding positively to treatment.
“We are doing everything humanly possible to see to the success of their treatment, including their routine feeding,” Kuchi said.
The chairman commended Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, for what he described as his swift response to the humanitarian and security challenges confronting communities affected by the attacks.
He said the governor’s intervention had provided critical support at a difficult moment.
Kuchi, however, stressed that relief materials and medical assistance could only provide temporary succour, insisting that the ultimate solution remained the restoration of security and the safe return of displaced residents to their ancestral communities.
Some beneficiaries expressed appreciation to the Kebbe Local Government Council for the intervention but appealed to the government and security agencies to intensify operations against the terrorists and bandits responsible for the attacks.
They said they were eager to return home and rebuild their shattered lives.
The residents called for sustained security measures to prevent further attacks, protect vulnerable communities and restore normalcy across the affected areas.
They stressed that meaningful development could not take place while residents continued to live under the shadow of terror.
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