Nigeria: Boko Haram’s victims about to starve

On occasion of the talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, in Berlin on Friday, the Society for Threatened Peoples emphasized that the victims of the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. “The whole world is talking about the necessity to step-up the military measures against the Islamic extremists – but the victims of the terrorist group are often forgotten. It is a scandal that, despite the hunger catastrophe in the north-east of Nigeria, only 26 percent of the cost for emergency aid are covered by the international community”, criticized Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Africa-expert. The human rights activist accused the Nigerian government of ignoring the necessity to ensure the survival of the civilian population for several months already. During their talks, Merkel and Buhari will also discuss the struggle against Boko Haram.

According to information by the UN, about seven million people in the north-east of Nigeria are in desperate need of humanitarian aid – and, due to the poor security situation, the aid workers are unable to reach about 2.2 million more. Further, help is required for hundreds of thousands of Christian Biafrans who have been living and working in the north of the country for decades, and who now had to flee to the south-east of the country due to Boko Haram’s terror. “Nobody cares about these internal refugees. They aren’t included in the statistics because they don’t live in camps and are hardly noticeable in everyday life,” Delius reported.

“The talks must also focus on the catastrophic human rights situation in Nigeria,” Delius warned. “Apparently, the security forces in Africa’s largest democracy don’t know what human rights are about. There are still no exact figures on how many civilians lost their lives in the struggle against Boko Haram, the massive bombardment and the army’s ruthless actions – also against protesters. “Instead of respecting the laws, they treat government critics arbitrarily. This is especially true in Biafra in the south-east of the country, where protesters are regularly arrested or shot down, and government critics are silenced in controversial trials. At least 69 Biafra activists have lost their lives in protest actions against unfair trials or due to other human rights violations since December 2015. When several judges were illegally arrested last weekend, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference protested against the illegal action and warned that Nigeria was not a banana republic.

Header Photo: Cia Pak via UN Photo