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Tag: Boko Haram victims

  • Nigeria, others sign deal on repatriation of Boko Haram victims

    Nigeria, others sign deal on repatriation of Boko Haram victims

    Nigeria, Cameroon and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have signed a deal for the voluntary repatriation of Nigerian victims of the Boko Haram currently living in Cameroon.

    The tripartite agreement followed the arrival of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) mission in Cameroon yesterday in a bid to draw international attention to the crisis wreaked on the Lake Chad region by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The legal framework for the voluntary return of the refugees “in safety and dignity” followed complaints that Cameroon was expelling Nigerians fleeing attacks by the jihadist group.

    Yaoundé authorities had deported 517 Nigerians, including “313 asylum seekers”, escaping Boko Haram assaults between February 10 and 15 after their arrest, in total disregard of international conventions.

    Cameroon’s Territorial Administration and Decentralisation minister, Mr Emmanuel Rene Sadi, signed the deal on behalf of President Paul Biya’s government.

    He said Yaoundé would continue to ensure protection of Nigerian refugees on its territory and

    spare no efforts to help those who wish to return to Nigeria in accordance with international agreements.

    More than 85,000 Boko Haram fleeing Nigerians are settled in Cameroon’s Far North region with 62,000 registered at the Minawao refugee camp, according to UNHCR.

    UNHCR believes there are thousands more who had not been reached by aid agencies “because of the prevailing insecurity” in their host localities.

    A UNHCR survey conducted at the Minawao camp in September 2016 showed 7 per cent of 9,300 sampled individuals were willing to return as soon as the situation in their areas of origin, predominantly in northeastern Nigeria, was conducive.

    The signatories also established a tripartite commission that will oversee the implementation of the pact.

    The UNHCR representatives in Cameroon said the agency was delighted with the deal which was a demonstration of “a real desire” by both countries to find a long-lasting solution for refugees willing to return in safety and dignity.

    Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009 aiming to create an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria, but has since spread its mutiny to neighbouring Lake Chad Basin countries.

  • BUHARI: FG TO FULLY REHABILITATE BOKO HARAM VICTIMS

    BUHARI: FG TO FULLY REHABILITATE BOKO HARAM VICTIMS

    President Muhammadu Buhari promised yesterday a full rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram by the federal government. He also promised a lasting solution to terrorism in the country.

    He told world leaders at the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya that Nigeria is already having the upper hand in subduing the terror sect, Boko Haram, having degraded it in many ways.

    The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said Buhari acknowledged Japanese assistance through UNICEF in the rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram.

    He also lauded development partners for their work geared towards improving the lives of some two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have been rendered homeless by terrorism,.

    “The bottom line is that these problems are our primary responsibility. We must tackle them and find lasting solutions for ourselves,’’ he said.

    Buhari also told the summit, which is being  attended by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 35 African leaders and chief executives of at least 80 major companies from Japan, that international cooperation with Nigeria was central in the decimation of Boko Haram terror group.

    Recounting his handling of the Boko Haram menace, Buhari said: ‘’I took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria when the North-Eastern part of the country was being ravaged by Boko Haram.

    ‘’However, soon after assumption of office, our administration with the support of our immediate neighbours — Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin- and international partners including Japan, faced the challenge frontally.

    ‘’As I speak the terror group has been decimated and life is beginning to return to normal in the affected region. The challenge we currently face which is also being addressed, is that of the IDPs which number over two million to get them re-integrated with their families and their original homes.’’

    Buhari also hailed Japan for contributing $800 million to Nigeria for the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, among others.

    The contribution is part of the $1.3 billion made available to the Nigerian Health Sector by the Global Fund.

    He was optimistic that partnership between Africa and Japan would help create and improve investment opportunities in industries, agriculture, information technology, science and technology among others for the good of the continent and investors from Japan.

    ‘’In view of the challenges Africa is facing, the imperative for a viable partnership like the Tokyo International Conference on African Development cannot be over emphasized,” he said.

    ‘’Today, many countries in Africa including the oil producing ones are wisely seeking to diversify their economies away from mono-cropping.

    ‘’In Nigeria, our Administration has already taken concrete steps to diversify the economy by making agriculture not just a development programme but a thriving business.

    ‘’Investing in the economies of this continent especially through Public-Private-Partnership can contribute to building capacity for our economies,’’ he said.

    The two-day summit with the theme ‘‘Advancing Africa’s Sustainable Development Agenda-TICAD Partnership for Prosperity”, is being held outside of Japan for the first time since its inception in 1993.

    Among other things, TICAD aims to solve Africa’s development problems through quality technology in the health, industry, agriculture and environment sectors.

    A draft declaration to be adopted at end of the summit will seek to combat the growing threats of terrorism, conflicts and violent radicalism through the promotion of education and job creation.

  • American University of Nigeria gives relief to Boko Haram victims

    American University of Nigeria gives relief to Boko Haram victims

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) and the Adamawa Peace Initiative (API) have donated food supplies to the people of Michika in Adamawa and offered community counselling.

    The community is one of the  towns formerly occupied by Boko Haram.

    After fleeing their homes  in the wake of Boko Haram’s insurgency, many Michika’s residents returned home to problems, including rising tension among residents.

    ”Today was our first trip as a peace initiative in Michika,” President of AUN, Margaret Ensign, said.

    “We have a reconciliation sub-committee going back and forth for the last two months, and their work has been important in determining whether the people wanted us there. And we got a report last week that said two sets of important things were important. One is that hate language is increasing among youths, tensions were high, and there was a part that jumped out at me which said: the AUN/API is who we request to come and help us. We had never thought that when we started four years ago that as the widespread conflict begins to end.”

    The peace team, as a form of goodwill, distributed food items to the 25 most vulnerable families in each of the 16 wards in Michika, before organising dialogue sessions among different groups, in a bid to ending rising tensions.

    Ensign said:  ”People need to figure out how to live together again. And if that does not happen, the social fabric would not come back again. I worked in Rwanda for a long time and I know what can happen if people don’t figure out how to live together again. They are making amazing progress in Rwanda, but that was because they took time to understand what happened after that genocide.

    “As we started to drive into the town, we saw women walking on the road, and I didn’t think much of it, until then it wasn’t 10 women or a 100 women, but thousands; all walking towards where we were going to meet them. And we had decided to feed just about 6,000. So, it was a reminder that the world and the national government needs to understand that there are hungry people up in these cities. The crisis is not over for them. They are hungry because they were not able to plant their crops. And that means they would be hungry till June or July; so, somehow we have to find a way to keep them fed.”

     

  • 500 Boko Haram victims on UN skill training programme

    500 Boko Haram victims on UN skill training programme

    The United Nations said yesterday in Abuja that it had sponsored 500 victims of Boko Haram violence from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to acquire vocational skills.

    UN Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Analyst Matthew Alao said the programme was under the UNDP Livelihood Support Scheme for the zone.

    Mr. Alao explained that an orientation programme for the 500 beneficiaries would commence on August 17 at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre in Jos, Plateau State.

    He said the skill acquisition programme was the first phase of intervention by the UN to ameliorate the suffering of displaced persons.

    Mr. Alao said the training would cover hair salon skills, tailoring, knitting, catering and decoration as well as GSM repair, shoe-making, leather works and computer studies.

    He said the participants would also undertake specialised training on conflict resolution and peace-building.

    “Five hundred beneficiaries, who are victims of Boko Haram from three Northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe will be placed on a two-week compulsory orientation programme.

    “Theywill undergo physical exercise, training, capacity building on mediation, conflict prevention, conflict transformation, social integration, peaceful co-existence for two weeks.

    “We received over 2,000 applications and engaged in rigorous screening exercise of which we selected the 500 genuinely needing this assistance.

    “We took the successful 500 candidates for a two-week intensive course on mental and physical training.

    “We are also going to train them on mediation and conflict transformation as well as business management; after that, we will put then on a six-month to one-year training,’’ he said.

    The UN official noted that the intervention was necessitated by the negative effects of Boko Haram insurgency on the Northeast.

    “Some of them had means of livelihood, but unfortunately their livelihoods have been cut short because of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “But we want to assure them that for everyone that is impacted in one way or the other, they will be accommodated in phases of the Early Recovery Programme,” he said.

    Mr. Alao said the UN would continue to support the displaced persons until peace is restored in the area.

    “We have been assisting in one way or the other to see that there is peace and stability in the state.

    “One aspect that guarantees peace and stability is by getting the people engaged, particularly the youth and widows.”

     

  • Oyedepo donates to Boko Haram victims

    Oyedepo donates to Boko Haram victims

    •’We share in your grief’

    The founder of Living Faith Ministries, Bishop David Oyedepo has encouraged widows and children of persecuted Christians in northern parts of the country to take solace in Jesus Christ and his reassuring words of hope in the face of oppression.

    He spoke during the donation of food and domestic items to the Stephen Children Home Abeokuta, Ogun State at the weekend.

    Over 50 widows and 400 children orphaned by Boko Haram fighters in Kaduna, Plateau, Gombe, Kano and other parts of the north are taking refuge in the home.

    Donating the items under the David Oyedepo Foundation, the faith preacher said the nation’s Christian community was very impressed by the relentless commitment of the widows and children to the gospel of Jesus in the face of intense persecution.

    He assured them that the church remains committed to reminding persecuted saints that they are never alone in their time of grief.

    Oyedepo, who was represented by a team from the foundation led by Gift Okwuazu, expressed optimism that the insurgency in the north will end soonest.

    According to him: “I am so happy for your resolve, commitment and we will continue to stand by you so that you will remain committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ even in the face of persecution, untold hardship and destruction of properties experience in northern Nigeria.”

    The Director of Stephen Children Home, Rev Isaac Newton-Wusu, thanked Oyedepo for his continuous support.

    He said: “We thank the church for believing in us as we work hard in taking care of the children of the persecuted saints and we will continue to expand and build fellowship.”

    Newton-Wusu challenged the nation’s leaders to be sincere, upright and firm in their determination to put a stop to the insurgency in the north

    He stated: “The decision is before our leaders to choose to confront evil and knock it out and nip it in the bud  or leave it to let it expand and when it expand it degenerates into a phenomenon that they never dream of because many of them will be sacked and probably they might seek exile somewhere else.”

  • Additional relief materials for rescued Boko Haram victims

    Additional relief materials for rescued Boko Haram victims

    The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), who also chairs the Special Committee on the Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Prof. Soji Adelaja, has ordered release of additional relief materials to over 1,000 women and children rescued from Sambisa forest, the former stronghold of Boko Haram terrorists.

    PINE Communications Officer, Odutayo Oluseyi, disclosed this in a statement yesterday.

    Adelaja issued the directive at the end of a meeting of the Special Committee on the Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) last week.

    While commending the committee for progress recorded, he said that the interim report will be submitted to the federal government very soon.

    He also indicated that the interim report would be only the first part of a strategic and comprehensive intervention plan for the economic redevelopment of the north-east, which will be submitted to the incoming administration through the proper channel.

    The distribution of relief materials, Adelaja said, will commence tomorrow.

    It will kick off with registration and distribution by NEMA and Red Cross at all host communities in Gombe, Taraba, Bauchi and IDPs camps in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states simultaneously.

    He said PINE has mapped a short, medium and long term plan to reposition the north east for a vibrant and robust economy.

  • Fed Govt to decide on compensation for Boko Haram victims

    Fed Govt to decide on compensation for Boko Haram victims

    The Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North has said the Federal Government will soon decide on the compensation for Boko Haram victims.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its Secretary, Esther Gonda, the committee said contrary to some reports, it never ruled out compensation for victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

    The statement explained that what the committee’s Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki said was that the committee would look into the issue of victims’ support and not to cancel compensation for them.

    The statement added: “The chairman did not, in any way say or infer that compensation will be given to only the security operatives. Rather, he emphasised that the committee will make appropriate recommendations to the government to support all victims of the insurgency.

    “Based on the committee’s terms of reference, we will constructively engage key members of Boko Haram and define a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the crises in the North and develop a framework for amnesty.”