By Alex Enumah in Abuja
No fewer than 14 members of the donor community have reiterated their commitment to the provision of humanitarian assistance to victims of Boko Haram insurgents in the north eastern part of Nigeria.
The reassurances followed the Federal government timely admittance that it’s Military invasion of a building belonging to the United Nations in Maiduguri was a mistake.
The military had on August 11, 2017, carried out what it described as a cordon and search operation at a building housing the United Nations (UN) staff in Maiduguri following alert on high profile Boko Haram members.
However, the military’s action received wide condemnation from both within and outside prompting the Federal government to make a public clarification and also reassured of its commitment to uphold the principles of international humanitarian law that guarantees protection for all humanitarian organisations.
The donor community which include Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark and Finland in a statement made available to THISDAY confirmed their commitment to continue to support humanitarian operations in North east as well as their continued support to the UN and other international aid agencies in the area.
“The below members of the donor community wish to express their concern with respect to the unauthorised search by the Nigerian military of a United Nations building in Maiduguri, Borno State on 11 August 207.
“We welcome the clarifications provided by the Nigerian government at the Federal and State levels and we take note of the acknowledgement that this operation was a mistake,” part of the statement read.
While they appreciated government’s commitment to the upholding of the principles of international Humanitarian Law regarding humanitarian organisations, they went ahead to confirm their commitment to the humanitarian needs in the northeast.
“We wish to confirm our commitment to support humanitarian operations in northeast Nigeria, and reaffirm our determination to continue to work closely with the government of Nigeria, the United Nations and other international aid agencies to assist and protect the most vulnerable in the region,†part of the statement read.
Other members of the donor community which signed the statement are the European Union, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
