No fewer than six million residents of Borno,
Adamawa and Yobe states have been directly
affected by Boko Haram attacks, the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
has said in a recent report obtained by Saturday
PUNCH .
The Islamic terrorist group has carried out daily
killings, bombings, lootings and destruction of
schools, homes, markets and hospitals in over 40
remote villages in the three North-Eastern states.
And attempts by the military to contain the attacks
and crush the sect’s violent activities had led to the
escalation of violence by the terrorists.
The Assessment Capacities Project, which is
dedicated to improving the assessment of needs in
complex emergencies and crises, in a recent briefing
note, confirmed that six million people had been
directly affected by the uprising.
The figure, it said, is half of the entire population of
the three North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa
A specialist in African Affairs, Congressional
Research Service, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, in a June,
2014 report said over 5,000 people were said to
have been killed in Boko Haram-related violence,
making it one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the
world.
The situation, according to the Human Rights Watch,
is heavily affecting human security and causing
civilian vulnerability.
According to the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, humanitarian
needs are mounting in the North-East and the Boko
Haram onslaught has caused displacement,
restricted movement, disrupted food supply,
hampered food access, as well as seriously hindered
basic services and farming.
The OCHA said at least 38 local government areas in
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states were hardest hit
by the Boko Haram attacks.
According to the agency, 27 LGAs in Borno are badly
hit, six in Adamawa and five in Yobe.
It said, “Half of the 12 million people living in Borno,
Yobe and Adamawa states are directly affected by
violence. This includes 27 local government areas in
Borno State, six LGAs in Adamawa and five LGAs in
Yobe states.”
There is palpable fear that killer diseases such as
polio and cholera may rise in the three states as a
result of terrorists’ activities, the ACAPs said.
According to ACAPS, only 37 per cent of health
facilities are functional in the North Eastern states,
adding that dozens of clinics had also been shut
down and doctors fled, leaving residents to seek
medical attention in Cameroon.
According to the assessment, mortality rates have
been increasing and vaccination programmes
severely hit. Tens of thousands are missing out on
vital services and the unavailability of shelter, food,
water, clothing, and health services has worsened.
These developments, ACAPS said, could cause break
out of polio; adding that Borno State accounted for
14 of the 53 polio cases recorded in the country in
2013.
However, with routine vaccinations now limited to
Maiduguri city following the stoppage of anti-polio
campaigns in many parts of the state, especially
northern Borno, ACAPS expressed fear that the
situation might worsen.
The agency also expressed worry that vaccinators
were now scared to work in the affected villages.
The Boko Haram sect killed nine health workers on
immunisation duty in two local governments of Kano
State last year.
A break in procurement chains for anti-malarial
drugs and bed nets is another concern, according to
ACAPS.
It said, “Between January and May, 12 states in
Nigeria have so far recorded 6,149 cases of cholera
and 67 deaths. Bauchi, Adamawa and Kano states
were hardest hit. The figures represent a significant
increase compared to the same period in 2013, and
the 2013 figures themselves represent an eightfold
increase compared to the same period in 2012.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross also
warned against the breakout of epidemics such as
polio and measles, among other killer-diseases.
The Communications Coordinator, ICRC, Alexandra
Mosimann, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH,
said the humanitarian crisis involving six million
residents of the North-Eastern states directly
affected by the Boko Haram insurgency could lead to
a serious health crisis in the region.
Mosimann said, “Conflicts disrupt disease prevention
programmes such as routine vaccination sessions.
This means setback in eradication of diseases such
as measles, polio, etc. Polio vaccinations are very
important in Nigeria, which is one of the three
countries in the world where children still succumb to
this disease.”
An activist and Founder, Gabasawa Women Initiative,
a coalition of women across Northern Nigeria,
Kucheli Balami in an interview with one of our
correspondents, said, “The situation in the North-
East is really disturbing because there are a lot of
deaths occurring every day. Many families have
been afflicted by sicknesses and diseases with no
access to medical care. The situation is already
turning many youths and children into social
miscreants because these people don’t have homes
again and are left with no other option than to roam
the streets searching for survival.
“The major concerns in the entire region are issues of
homelessness, lack of food, depression, hypertension
and general agony. Since the area is no longer
secure, people cannot go to their farms anymore for
fear of being attacked by Boko Haram members and
as you know, we are in the planting season already.
“Most of the women I have been interacting with and
whom we conducted medical tests for have
outrageous blood pressures because of what they
and their families have been put through. I am
working with over 2,000 women and 7,500 children
across the regions who are direct victims of Boko
Haram attacks in the North-East. These people are
afraid. You can see shock and despair in their eyes.
Some of them are gradually losing their sanity
because they don’t know when they will live normal
lives again. Their houses have been burnt and all
their life savings stolen by the insurgents who
continue to attack villages on daily basis.”
The Director, International Centre for Peace, Charity
and Human Development, Mr. Clement Iornongu, in a
telephone interview with one of our correspondents,
said it was highly objectionable to subject female
children to a horrendous psycho-social treatment in
the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.
Iornongu said, “It is a great matter of concern that
the insurgents are going on with the escalation of
bombings in Nigeria. It is highly objectionable that
we subject our daughters to such a horrendous
psycho-social treatment. That is why for us, we are
saying that the child rights law should come into full
operation not just in the North-East but Nigeria as a
whole.”
The Borno State acting Commissioner for
Information, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, said the Boko
Haram insurgency had drawn the North-East back
and affected its economy.
He said, “The Boko Haram has greatly affected the
North-East and the Federal Government should work
decisively to arrest the situation, it should get into
the region back to normally with all the vigour it
takes.
The Boko Haram sect began its violent campaign
against the Nigerian state in 2009, thus killing
hundreds of people and destroying property worth
several billions of naira.
Early this year, the terrorist group invaded a
secondary school at Buni Yadi, Yobe State, and
killed many students and precisely on April 14, the
violent sect stormed the Government Secondary
School at Chibok, Borno State, and abducted over
200 female students in their hostels.
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