By Michael Olugbode
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) otherwise called Doctors Without Borders has condemned Wednesday’s killing of five aid workers in Borno State.
It described the attacks on the aid workers as a crime aimed at depriving the people of the North-east access to basic necessities of life.
The MSF in a statement on Thursday said: “Attacks against aid workers deprive people in need of humanitarian assistance, including access to clean water, food and healthcare.
“In North-east Nigeria where conflict has raged for more than a decade and the humanitarian crisis has been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 10 million people are estimated to be in need of urgent assistance.
“MSF condemns all forms of violence against humanitarian aid workers and humanitarian assistance in the strongest possible terms.”
The statement quoting the International President of MSF, Dr Christos Christou, said: “We at MSF are devastated to hear this terrible news. We stand in solidarity and send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those killed in these brutal attacks.
“This is not the first time we have seen the deliberate targeting and execution of aid workers in Borno State. These murders come on top of similar atrocities in 2019, in which 12 aid workers were killed. MSF condemns, in the strongest possible terms, all violence against humanitarian aid workers.”
The statement pleaded that all parties to the conflict must ensure that populations in need have safe and unhindered access to urgent and lifesaving humanitarian assistance.
MSF is an international humanitarian medical organisation that provides assistance to populations in distress, victims of natural or man-made disasters and victims of armed conflicts irrespective of race, religion, creed or political conviction.
It has worked continuously in Nigeria since 1996 and currently runs projects in seven states throughout the country.
