No fewer than 250 elephants roaming in Kala-Balge district of Borno state, Nigeria are in conflict with thousands of refugees.
They also face the threat of extinction from jihadist groups who have converted most part of Nigeria’s North-East to hotspots for insurgent attacks.
The elephants which used to be deterred by the presence of numerous village populations in Borno state found their way back to areas largely emptied of people due to havoc wrecked by more than a decade of Boko Haram insurgency.
In what can be described as a daring move, the elephants have ventured into Kala-Balge district, trampling crops which are just a few weeks ready for harvest.
The developed has pitched conflict between the largest land mammals and thousands of refugees who had hopes of harvesting the crops.
Confirming the development to newsmen, a community leader in Kala-Balge Babagana Shettima lamented that the presence of the herbivores in the district has compounded the misery of refugees and residents of the district.
“The situation of the elephants here is very terrible, they are really destroying our farmlands,” he said.
“People here are already suffering, they are living in the camps or in the bush, they have to farm to eat and this is the only source for their food. If the elephants destroy it, they will not have any food to eat.”
Mr Shettima who revealed that refugees and residents of Kala-Balge have resorted to buying food from a 12-mile Cameroonian border, added that the district can only receive food aid from the government via helicopter drop-off because the roads are completely cut off.
It is worthwhile to note that the roaming elephants in Nigeria’s North-East are one of the last great herds in West Africa.
They were first sighted at the region in December last year since the advent of Boko Haram insurgency.
