NHRC Reacts As UN Says Boko Haram 12 -Year Insurgency Pushes 1.7m Children Into Malnutrition

The Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chief Tony Ojukwu SAN, has lamented the destruction caused by Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria.

This is as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA published on its website that “approximately 1.74 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition across the north-east in 2022.”

OCHA stated further that over 300,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and at high risk of death in 2022 “if they do not receive urgent treatment” from relevant authorities.

The UN agency tied the development to 12 years of Boko Haram insurgency in North-east Nigeria.

In a statement made available to THE WHISTLER on Saturday by NHRC Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, the Commission acknowledged that Boko Haram insurgency had wrecked havoc in states and Communities in the North East.

But the NHRC is optimistic that the war cannot continue forever, adding that “ the Commission through its Project on Promoting Reconciliation, Reintegration, and Transitional Justice in the States of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, which is supported by the European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has begun to lay a foundation for a sustainable, peaceful and developed society where consideration will be given to the victims and the communities, not undermining the necessity for justice with regards to the perpetrators.”

The NHRC explained what the commission was doing about the development in Maiduguri, during the second meeting of the Borno State Project Advisory Committee (SPAC) on Promoting Reconciliation, Reintegration, and Transitional Justice in some parts of the North East.

The statement partly reads: “The Project Coordinator who is also the Human Rights Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Mr. Hillary Ogbonna, gave a rundown of the achievement of the Project including; Capacity building for Media on Reconciliation and Transitional Justice, Development of a framework for Transitional Justice and Reconciliation, Harnessing Community Information and Data for Transitional Justice, Communication and Advocacy to Promote Transitional Justice and Reconciliation etc.

“He further stated that there are other important activities under the Project which are yet to be achieved like; Sensitization, Advocacy, and Outreaches, (this will involve traditional/religious leaders forum on reconciliation) Capacity Building and Training, Transitional Justice at the Community Level (involving constitution of transitional justice panel, community reconciliation, and healing sessions etc).

“The Chairman of the SPAC who is also the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary Borno State Ministry of Justice, Barr Hussaini Izge, disclosed that “there are indications that we are exiting the horrific situation, the closure of some camps in Maiduguri is a signal that the peace that we are praying for is gradually returning.

“He said, with the composition of the SPAC, we will cooperate and use our individual and collective expertise to assist the Commission to ensure that this project is implemented to the later”.

According to Ojukwu, “the Commission welcomes the acceptance of members of the Committee to work on this Project, the Committee is an important mechanism through which the Commission intends to strengthen and accelerate the achievement of the Transitional Justice Project and promote accountability to the Project’s objectives and outcomes”.