BY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation (CALMHAF) has decried dire psychological and humanitarian condition of 50 widows at the COCIN Central IDP Camp in Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State.
This followed brutal attacks on Mushere-Bokkos communities within Plateau State in recent time, which also affected women from Mwor, Kadinbisha, Hok, and other surrounding communities as well.
The CALMHAF Plateau State Programmes Manager, Mr Amos Zingven Selkap, who led the Foundation’s team, conducted a mental wellness outreach at the IDP Camp on May 8, 2026.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in the Foundation’s Headquarters in Enugu by Mr Munachi Igbelina, the Administrative Team Lead of CALMHAF.
Selkap noted that during the outreach there was documented widespread trauma, profound grief, and desperate living conditions among the survivors especially widows.
He said that the widows recounted harrowing experiences of violence by armed herdsmen; many lost husbands, children, and other family members.
The programme manager emphasised that in one particularly tragic incident on May 26, 2025, Mrs. Paulina Jerry, survived an attack, had six members of her family killed by suspected herdsmen.
He noted that surviving widows exhibited clear signs of acute psychological distress, including uncontrollable weeping, emotional breakdown, and high risk of depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Selkap said that all 50 women, who were documented, had been completely displaced, losing their homes, farmlands, and entire means of livelihood.
The programme manager made some urgent recommendations drawing from the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.
“There should be a weekly safe spaces and support group sessions led by trained counselors; Psychological First Aid (PFA) training for camp-based volunteers and comprehensive mental health screening and referral of severe cases to specialists in Jos.
“Trauma-informed livelihood skills training (tailoring, soap-making, poultry, and small-scale trading); provision of starter kits, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), and unconditional cash or food assistance.
“Stronger collaboration with NEMA, SMEDAN, and other government agencies for sustainable recovery and advocacy for improved security to enable safe return to ancestral homes,” he said.
Selkap called on concerned Individuals and organisations, the Plateau State Government, Federal Government, humanitarian partners, faith-based organisations, and the general public to act swiftly.
The programme manager said that without urgent psychosocial support and economic intervention, these widows risk long-term mental health deterioration and prolonged dependency.
“These women have lost everything. They urgently need more than sympathy — they need structured support to regain their dignity and rebuild their lives,” Selkap added.
Contributing,, the Co-Founder of CALMHAF, Mrs Uzoamaka Nwachukwu, commended the Plateau State Chapter of the foundation and promised more interventions to assist survivors especially the widows pass through the difficult time.
One of the survivor, who simply gave her name as Rhoda, said: “Our community has been taken from us, and we cannot return unless the government intervenes decisively.”
The Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation (CALMHAF) is a dedicated Nigerian organisation working to promote mental health awareness and provide psychosocial support to survivors of violence, conflict, and disaster across Nigeria.
CALMHAF foundation can be reached through Email: [email protected];
Phone or WhatsApp: +2348148318965 and
Website: www.copeandlive.foundation.
