By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
The United Nations has called on Nigerian government to
provide immediate humanitarian assistance to 10,000 persons forced to relocate
from their town to Maiduguri.
In a statement on Thursday, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in
Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, also called on the Nigerian government to provide
protection for up to 10,000 women, men and children who were forced to relocate
to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, from a town 40 kilometres away.
The statement signed by Samantha Newport, Head of Communications, the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) said: “On
the evening of 8 April 2019 the Nigerian military ordered the immediate
departure of and forced the relocation of up to 10,000 civilians in the middle
of the night, without prior warning, from Jakana town, transporting them by bus
or truck to Bakassi camp for internally displaced people. According to the
military the civilians were relocated for security reasons ahead of planned
operations in the area.”
The statement quoting Kallon, lamented that: “The entire town of Jakana was
emptied, and people were forced to move to Maiduguri with very little time to
collect personal belongings. Some people said they arrived in Maiduguri with
nothing, not even with shoes on their feet.”
Kallon said. “The United Nations is urging the Government to urgently provide
safety, shelter, food, water and medical care to the displaced civilians, in
addition to information about when they will be allowed to return home.”
The statement further read that: “The United Nations and its humanitarian
partners call on the Government of Nigeria to take all possible practical
measures to ensure the protection of civilians and full respect of the rights
of individuals in accordance with its obligations under international
humanitarian law and international human rights law as well as the Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement.
“The United Nations reaffirms its commitment to support national and local
efforts to ensure that civilians affected by the conflict in Borno, Adamawa and
Yobe states can access the humanitarian assistance and protection services they
require.”