Returnees allege discrimination

Residents of Michika, whose communities have been recaptured from Boko Haram, rsay alarm over alleged discriminatory distribution of relief materials. Some of the returnees say a leading tribe in the area is marginalizing the other tribes using ethno-religious sentiments to distribute relief items and denying many other relief items. A returnees:

Whenever there is a relief material to be distributed, members of a particular tribe which I don’t want to mention would dominate the distribution points making sure that other tribes do not benefit. If there is a list to be taken, they make sure that only their tribes men or kith and kins were listed for support. My people are experiencing this particularly in Garta village of the area.

Another complainant also calls for government intervention to check the discrimination, adding that Michika Local Government has long history of ethno-religious tension that is aggravated by the Boko Haram crisis.

This is the time for relevant authorities and leaders from the area to intervene to address this problem before it turns into an ethno- religious crisis being experienced in parts of Plateau and Kaduna states.