The European Union (EU) has revealed plans to give the sum of €5 million to boosts its humanitarian aid to the displaced victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in north-eastern part of Nigeria, Nigerian Tribune reports.
The revelation was made known on Tuesday by Christos Stylianides, EU’s Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.
Stylianides said the money is to help displaced persons from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, adding that about tens of thousands of the people had been forced to flee from their homes more than once in recent months.
The European Union’s new funding has brought the commission’s humanitarian aid in Nigeria to the sum of €12.5 million in 2014.
The union explained that the conditions in informal settlements were particularly terrible, adding that tens of thousands of newly arrived displaced people were in crucial need of basic amenities like shelter, food, water and healthcare.
It is however, believed that over 1.6 million people are internally displaced or have taken refuge in neighbouring countries of Niger, Cameroon and Chad, following the terrorists activities of the Boko Haram in the North-East.
It was reported that hundreds of thousands of people have settled in camps and public buildings, in courtyards, construction sites and open fields around major towns like Yola, the capital of Adamawa state.
Meanwhile, the total number of displaced persons in Adamawa State alone is estimated at 500,000 while there are another 350,000 around Maiduguri in Borno State.
It would be recalled that the European Union (EU) through Dr Frank Seinmeier, German Minister of Foreign Affairs and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Laurent Fabius who led a delegation to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega’s office in Abuja, pleaded with the Nigerian government to intensify its efforts in putting an end to Boko Haram insurgency.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) on October 10, 2014, also condemned the death sentence handed to 12 Nigerian soldiers by the General Court Martial in Nigeria for alleged mutiny.