The protracted ethno-religious crisis in Plateau State claimed the lives of 53,787 persons, according to official government figures released yest-erday.
A breakdown of the figures shows that the deaths included 18.921, men, 17,297 women and 17,459 children.
Hon. Thomas Kanguaan, special adviser to the administrator on resettlement and rehabilitation, who released the figures yesterday, said they were based on an interim report submitted to the government by the committee on the census of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The committee was charged with the responsibility of identifying and ascert-aining the number and location of all internally displaced persons within and outside Plateau State. Thomas Kanguaan is chairman of the committee.
Based on the interim report, Hon Kanguaan said that a total of 218,164 households were displaced even as 25,129 houses and 865 shops were destroyed while 1,326 cattle were lost during the crisis.
Mr Kanguaan also gave details of relief materials distributed to the internally displaced persons. He said assorted building materials were received from the National Emergency Manag-ement Agency (NEMA) and assorted foodstuff and wrappers from Kebbi State government.
Others were assorted foodstuff and second-hand clothes from the Nigeria Customs Services, water tanks, tents and assorted blankets from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and assorted foodstuff and medicine from some non-governmental organisation (NGOs).
Cash donations were also received from some state governments with the highest being N10 million from Sokoto State government while the governments of Kebbi, Imo and Yobe donated one million naira each.
On its part, Kanguaan said the Plateau State government procured and distri-buted clothes, mats, blan-kets, water tanks, foodstuff and assorted building materials.
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