After violent bandit attacks forced thousands of Jigare, Mansur, Yolo and Gona residents from their homes in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State, more than 7,000 displaced people now crowd into classrooms and verandas of a primary school in Kashere, Gombe State. Among them are children who have never attended school, mothers nursing newborns and farmers who fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. In this special report, CHIMA AZUBUIKE captures the voices, struggles and fragile hopes of families struggling to rebuild their lives far from home.
Eight-year-old Hafsat Adamu stood in the middle of a crowded circle in Kashere, carefully demonstrating how to wash hands properly.
With a plastic container beside her and a small group of children watching closely, she rubbed her palms together and poured water slowly over them while aid workers looked on approvingly.
To the humanitarian workers in the camp, Hafsat had become something of a “hygiene champion”, a child who helps teach other children basic sanitation practices. But behind her confident demonstration lies a story of displacement, fear and a lost childhood.
Hafsat has never attended school before.
Before arriving in Kashere community in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, the young girl lived in Jigari in neighbouring Bauchi State. When armed bandits attacked communities around her home, her family was forced to flee, leaving everything behind.
Speaking in Hausa through a volunteer translator, Hafsat recalled the frightening night her family escaped.
“I’m not in any class,” she said quietly. “Before this incident, I had never gone to school.”
She explained that the attack happened suddenly, leaving families with no choice but to run for their lives.
“I fled from Jigari. I had to run for my life to safety because of the bandits,” she said. “Unfortunately, they captured one of my elder sisters in the village.”
Now, Hafsat lives with thousands of other displaced persons in an improvised camp at the Central Primary School in Kashere.
The classrooms meant for learning have been converted into temporary shelters. Verandas are lined with mats where families sleep. The school compound, once filled with pupils and teachers, now shelters people who have lost homes, farms and livelihoods.
For Hafsat and hundreds of other children, this camp is the only place they know for now.
The camp in Kashere hosts more than 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled several communities in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
They escaped violent attacks believed to be carried out by armed bandits operating in villages such as Jigare, Mansur, Yolo and Gona.
Many of those now sheltering in the camp say their lives changed overnight.
Among them is Zaradeen Abdullahi, a farmer from Mansur who fled with his family after the violence intensified in his community.
Abdullahi, who arrived at the camp with almost nothing, described how insecurity forced them to abandon their homes.
“I have two wives. I’m a farmer and I have five children,” he said.
“One of my wives travelled to Katsina, but I fled with the other one to Gombe State.”
He said the attacks in his community were linked to a notorious bandit leader known as Gambo Kachalla.
According to Abdullahi, Kachalla and his fighters terrorised several communities in Alkaleri, forcing residents to flee.
“Gambo Kachalla and his men caused chaos that forced myself and other members of the community to flee Mansur in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State to Kashere in Gombe State for safety,” he explained.
Abdullahi said that before the recent violence, there had been attempts to reconcile with the bandit leader.
He recounted that Kachalla had once been arrested in another state.
“Before Gambo came to our village, he was arrested in Nasarawa State with at least four trailers filled with cows,” he said.
“But when he was arrested there, he was brought back to his state of origin.”
According to him, local authorities had expected Kachalla to live peacefully after returning.
“Gambo Kachalla was expected to live in the village without rancour and he pledged to maintain peace,” Abdullahi said.
“He had spent about 20 years in the bush without coming out.”
For a brief moment, villagers hoped peace might return.
But that hope soon faded.
“He even built a new house and started living there,” Abdullahi said. “But his boys were not peaceful.”
He said the fighters surrounding Kachalla continued to cause trouble in nearby communities.
“They engaged in cattle and goat rustling,” he said.
“They also caused trouble after consuming alcohol. They killed and injured community members.”
Abdullahi said the violence escalated because the bandit leader was unable to control his followers.
“Gambo failed to control his men,” he said. “They continued to terrorise the community.”
The situation worsened when the group began issuing conditions to local authorities.
“During meetings with government and security agencies, they insisted that they did not want vigilante groups or police officers in the area,” he said.
“They wanted to be the ones controlling everything.”
Abdullahi also recalled a threat issued by one of Kachalla’s relatives.
“His brother known as Auta warned the village head to stop involving security officers,” he said.
“He vowed to eliminate his family.”
For many villagers, that threat signalled the beginning of more violence.
Soon afterwards, attacks intensified and residents began fleeing their homes.
Just like Bello Turji, Ado Aleru, Dogo Gide, Halilu Sububu, Kachalla Turji and Ali Kachalla operating across parts of the North Central and North West, Gambo Kachalla and Auta were listed by residents as masterminds of the Bauchi bandit attacks.
Like many displaced families, Amina Isa remembers the day her life changed forever.
At just 20 years old, she is already a mother of three, including a three-month-old baby named Bello Isa, whom she is currently breastfeeding.
When the attack occurred, she said she had just returned from the market.
“We saw people running and myself and my husband ran with them,” she said.
“It was due to bandit attack.”
She said the attack happened late in the day when people were going about their normal routines.
“It was around evening and I had just returned from the market,” she recalled.
“All we did was run.”
Amina said she fled without carrying any belongings.
Now she sleeps on a mat in a classroom with other displaced families.
Nearby, her baby cries softly as she rocks him to sleep.
The Central Primary School in Kashere was never designed to house thousands of displaced people.
But since February 2026, it has become a refuge for families fleeing violence.
According to Umar Badiko, Chairman of the Committee on IDPs in the camp, the displaced persons first arrived on February 24.
“We received the IDPs on the 24th of February 2026,” he said.
“They came from Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.”
Badiko said the displaced families were fleeing attacks in several communities.
“They are people displaced by bandits around Jigare, Mansur, Yolo and Gona communities in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State,” he explained.
He said the camp population has grown rapidly.
“The camp population is about 7,000,” he said.
“Children alone are between 3,000 and 4,000.”
Inside the school compound, families sleep in classrooms, verandas and open spaces.
Many rely on mats distributed by humanitarian organisations.
But Abdullahi said the number of mats is not enough for everyone.
“The mats distributed here are not adequate,” he lamented.
“I came here with only the clothes on my body.”
He said displaced persons share the limited bedding available.
“We basically use mats to sleep,” he said.
“As we speak, it is first come, first served because we do not have enough.”
Like many others, Abdullahi left home without packing any belongings.
“I didn’t pack anything,” he said.
“At the moment, I depend on whatever I get.”
Living conditions in the camp are difficult, especially for children.
According to Badiko, two children have already died since the displaced families arrived.
“There have been fatalities,” he confirmed.
“Two children have died.”
Health officials say overcrowding and poor sanitation increase the risk of disease outbreaks.
Badiko said suspected measles cases have been reported among children.
“There are signs of measles,” he said.
“One or two children have already been diagnosed.”
The situation prompted urgent intervention from humanitarian organisations.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is among the organisations supporting the displaced families.
During a visit to the camp, Chief of Field Office for UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, said the agency was working with the governments of Bauchi and Gombe to support the displaced population.
“Today we are here with the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency to assess the arrangements in the camp,” she said.
“These people were displaced from Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State and are now taking refuge here in Gombe.”
Rafique praised the Gombe State Government for responding quickly to the humanitarian situation.
“I am grateful to the Government of Gombe State and the Governor, as well as the Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Development Agency and the Ministry of Education,” she said.
“They have been supporting the camp from the first day.”
She said the displaced population currently exceeds 7,000 people.
“There are now more than 7,000 people in this camp,” she said.
“They are receiving support from both the Gombe and Bauchi state governments.”
Rafique said UNICEF had distributed hundreds of hygiene kits to improve sanitation conditions.
“We have distributed about 600 hygiene and dignity kits,” she explained.
“We have also provided 56 household cholera kits.”
The intervention, she said, was necessary because of the poor sanitation situation.
“The sanitation situation here is very poor,” she said.
“We must improve it to prevent outbreaks of cholera and other diseases.”
Health officials discovered another worrying issue among children in the camp.
Many had never received routine vaccinations.
“There are many zero-dose children who have never received any form of vaccination,” Rafique said.
She said UNICEF and health officials have started immunisation programmes to protect them.
“We are ensuring that these children are now covered through immunisation,” she said.
The organisation also plans to address another challenge: education.
“There are many children here who have never been to school,” Rafique noted.
“We plan to establish safe learning spaces so that they can begin learning while they are here.”
For children like Hafsat, such initiatives could change their future.
The Gombe State Government has also activated an emergency response to support the camp.
Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Shuaibu Abdulrahman, said the state had created an incident management system to coordinate humanitarian efforts.
“The government has set up a multi-sectoral committee involving the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Special Duties,” he explained.
“This committee coordinates activities in the camp.”
Abdulrahman said healthcare services have been made available through a nearby primary healthcare centre.
“Just across the road, we have a primary healthcare centre where IDPs can receive free treatment,” he said.
Vaccination campaigns have also begun.
“As of yesterday, about 300 children have received routine immunisation,” he said.
“In addition, 33 zero-dose children have been vaccinated.”
Health workers also administer vaccines against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) to eligible girls.
Despite ongoing interventions, sanitation remains one of the biggest challenges in the camp.
Badiko said open defecation was initially widespread.
“When the people arrived, they were used to living in the bush,” he said.
“They started defecating anywhere.”
Authorities have since tried to improve sanitation by constructing toilets and promoting hygiene education.
“We currently have about 20 toilets,” he said.
“But open defecation is still a challenge.”
Water supply is another issue.
Badiko said the camp relies on a combination of borehole water and tanker deliveries.
“We have one borehole,” he said.
“In addition, a tanker supplies water to 5,000-litre tanks.”
Aid agencies have also provided water purification tablets.
Food is provided periodically by government and humanitarian organisations.
Badiko said the local government chairman donated rice, palm oil and some cash to support displaced families.
“The Bauchi State Government also came with maize, rice, millet and sugar,” he said.
However, nutrition remains a concern, especially for children.
“Many of them mostly eat rice,” he said.
“We need balanced diets.”
Health officials have also identified cases of malnutrition among children in the camp.
Abdulrahman said the government had approved funding for therapeutic foods.
“The state government has approved N500 million counterpart funding for ready-to-use therapeutic foods for malnourished children,” he said.
“We expect the supplies soon.”
The overcrowded conditions in the school camp highlight the urgent need for better shelter.
Authorities are planning to relocate the displaced families to another facility.
According to Badiko, there are hostels at Government Day Secondary School along Billiri Road that could accommodate the IDPs.
“The state governor has promised to renovate the place,” he said.
“Once that is done, we will move the IDPs from here to that location.”
Until then, thousands remain in classrooms meant for pupils.
For many displaced persons, the hardest part of the crisis is the loss of home.
Rabi Saleh, a middle-aged woman who fled Mansur, said leaving her community behind was painful.
“We ran from Mansur to this place to seek refuge,” she said.
“The bandits caught us unaware.”
She said many families escaped without taking any belongings.
“Many of us could not take anything,” she said.
“I have been here for more than two weeks.”
Saleh said the experience has been emotionally draining.
“It has not been easy abandoning everything you were doing just to find safety elsewhere,” she said.
“But we have no choice.”
The Camp Secretary of the IDPs in Kashere, Dr Bala Babangida, expressed appreciation to UNICEF and other partners for their support.
“Currently, we have received 600 WASH and dignity kits from UNICEF as well as 56 cholera kits which will help address sanitation and health issues in the camp,” he said.
Babangida said the interventions had significantly reduced cases of open defecation within the camp.
“Some days ago, if you stayed here for just a few minutes you would notice the bad odour because of open defecation, but the situation has improved significantly with the support we are receiving,” he explained.
He added that volunteers within the camp had been mobilised to maintain sanitation facilities.
“There are volunteers among the displaced persons who are responsible for cleaning the toilets and ensuring that the sanitation facilities are properly maintained,” he said.
Babangida noted that although the camp population had grown rapidly, authorities were managing the situation with available facilities.
“The camp is currently overcrowded but we are managing with the facilities we have. People are using classrooms, verandas and other available spaces for shelter,” he said.
He identified healthcare support for malnourished children as one of the remaining urgent needs in the camp.
“We have some children suffering from malnutrition and we still need specialised food to support them,” Babangida added.
As the sun begins to set over Kashere, the school compound slowly quiets.
Children play between classrooms and compounds while women prepare evening meals over small cooking fires.
Hafsat Adamu sits with other children. She smiles shyly as she watches aid workers distributing hygiene supplies.
For now, this crowded school is her world.
But like thousands of displaced children around her, Hafsat dreams of something more: safety, education and a chance to live without fear.
Whether that future will come soon remains uncertain.
For families like hers, survival remains the priority.
And until peace returns to their communities, the classrooms of Kashere will continue to serve not as places of learning but as shelters for people whose lives were disrupted by violence.
Our correspondent gathered that the government had already declared an emergency vacation for the school students who are the original occupants of the compound to a later date, even though the term is still ongoing.
