UN calls for protection for women, men, children forced to relocate to Maiduguri

Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, has called on Federal Government to protect up to 10,000 women, men and children who were forced to relocate to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, from a town 40km.

Kallon in a statement by Samantha Newport, Head of Communications, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Thursday in Maiduguri, the Nigerian military ordered the immediate departure of and relocation of up to 10,000 civilians in the middle of the night, without prior warning, from Jakana town.

He said that the military transported the IDPs by bus or truck to Bakassi camp for internally displaced people.

According to the military the civilians were relocated for security reasons ahead of planned operations in the area

“The entire town of Jakana was emptied, and people were forced to move to Maiduguri with very little time to collect personal belongings, some of them said they arrived in Maiduguri with nothing, not even with shoes on their feet.

“The UN is urging the Government to urgently provide safety, shelter, food, water and medical care to the displaced civilians, in addition to information about when they will be allowed to return home,” Kallon said.

The UN official also called on the government to adopt practical measures to ensure the protection of civilians and respect of the rights of individuals in accordance with its obligations under international humanitarian law; international human rights law and Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Kallon reiterated the commitments of the UN to provide humanitarian assistance to persons displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.