A 25-year-old internally displaced woman, Shidoo Tortiv, has given birth to quadruplets: two boys and two girls in Benue State.

Displaced by renewed violence and insecurity in the state, Shidoo and her husband, Mr Wilfred Tortiv, who hail from Ucha village in Gwer West Local Council, sought refuge with relatives in Kula, a suburb within the same council. At the time of the delivery, they were not at the state’s official Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Tortiv said his wife gave birth at about 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. He disclosed that the delivery was handled by local midwives at home as they could not afford hospital costs. He added that both the mother and the babies were in good health.

The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde, confirmed the delivery in a telephone interview with The Guardian over the weekend. He stated that Governor Hyacinth Alia was informed of the mother’s condition and promptly directed that she be taken to the hospital for proper medical care.

“The governor directed that they should be taken to the hospital for proper medical care. They were taken to General Hospital Naka. Now I am waiting for them at Moses Adasu (formerly Benue State University Teaching Hospital) where they would be given adequate attention,” Kunde said.