International

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

Ochuwa Ibrahim

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

By: Michael Mike

The United Nations has said US$396 million is urgently needed to salvage a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the nation’s Northeast.

The UN decried that should something not urgently be done to address the situation, humanitarian partners will only reach about 300,000 of the 4.3 million at-risk people in need of food assistance in the troubled Northeast region of Nigeria during the lean season.

A statement on Thursday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) after the Launch of the Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multi-sector Plan 2023 said: “To prevent a widespread hunger and malnutrition crisis in north-east Nigeria from turning fully catastrophic US$396 million is urgently needed to scale up humanitarian action in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states.”

The UN decried that: “More than half a million people may face emergency levels of food insecurity, with extremely high rates of acute malnutrition and cases of mortality if there is no rapid and significant scale up of humanitarian assistance.

It estimated two million children under five in the three states are likely to face wasting this year, insisting that: “This is the most immediate and life-threatening form of malnutrition. Some 700,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition – meaning that they are 11 times more likely to die compared to well-nourished children. They need immediate action to survive.”

The UN claimed that: “The deepening food crisis and worrying malnutrition levels are the result of years of protracted conflict and insecurity which continue to prevent more than two million people from returning home. A combination of fuel and food inflation, a naira cash crisis earlier in the year, and climate shocks (such as the record floods in Nigeria in 2022) are among factors that have worsened the crisis.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale was quoted to have said: “I have seen firsthand the anguish of mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished infants in our partner-run stabilization centres. This is a situation no one should have to face,” adding that: “I have spoken with children who described going for days without eating enough. Mothers who said their children go to bed crying from hunger. Families struggling to feed their families as they have gone for months without receiving food assistance.”

He lamented that this may become the unfortunate reality for millions of food-insecure people in the BAY states unless resources and funding are urgently mobilized, adding that if additional funding is not received, humanitarian partners will only reach about 300,000 of the 4.3 million at-risk people in need of food assistance during the peak of the lean season. As more people in urgent need of food aid go unassisted, there will be an increased risk of starvation and death.

With the current limited resources, nearly 3.4 million people will not be reached with agricultural livelihood support, including farming inputs such as fertilizers. This funding gap is critical for agricultural livelihoods sustaining over 80 per cent of the vulnerable people across the BAY states. A critical part of addressing the food crisis is to enable people to grow their own food.

The statement revealed that the World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up its operations to assist 2.1 million people with emergency food and nutrition supplies, noting that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and nutrition partners aim to provide life-saving nutrition services to over one million malnourished children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) planning to reach two million people with seed packages to secure cereal production for the upcoming harvest.

“While we continue to work together to stave off catastrophe, the sheer scale of the food and nutrition crisis means that humanitarian assistance is critical right now,” said the Country Representative and Country Director of WFP in Nigeria, Mr. David Stevenson, was quoted to have said.

The Country Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, called for concerted efforts to protect children. She said: “We have the power to make a difference in the lives of these children. With your support, we can prevent more children from suffering from malnutrition and give them a chance at a healthy and happy future.”

The FAO representative to Nigeria, Mr. Fred Kafeero, warned that the upcoming lean season may worsen food insecurity among vulnerable households without access to agricultural livelihood options. He said: “FAO requires funding to reach two million people with urgent food and livelihood assistance in the form of critical production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and livelihood assets including small ruminants and poultry, and the corresponding skills to save lives, and protect and rebuild livelihoods.”

According to the statement, with the lean season coinciding with the rainy season, humanitarian partners are also concerned about outbreaks of diseases, such as acute watery diarrhoea, cholera and malaria, which will only aggravate the situation of malnourished children. Children suffering from malnutrition are at higher risk of dying from common infections.

The statement said the US$396 million in funding will enable humanitarian organisations to swiftly expand food and nutrition assistance, along with supplementary interventions such as clean water and sanitation, healthcare, protection and logistics in the BAY states.

And to kickstart the response to the food security and nutrition crisis in north-east Nigeria, the UN has released a combined $18 million. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Humanitarian Coordinator Schmale will be disbursing a further $9 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF).

“These CERF and NHF funds, however, account for less than five per cent of what humanitarian organizations require to address the most urgent food and nutrition needs. Significant additional and early funding is urgently needed,” said Mr. Schmale. “As we have seen in previous years, early funding can help pull food insecure people back from the brink.”

UN Says US396 million Needed Urgently to Avert Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Northeast

International

Nigeria Commiserates with Catholic Church Over Demise of Pope Francis

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Nigeria Commiserates with Catholic Church Over Demise of Pope Francis

By: Michael Mike

The Federal Government has expressed profound sorrow at the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, who died on Monday, 21 April 2025, at the age of 88 years.

The departed Holy Father, the political head of Vatican City and the head of the Catholic Church, was described in the statement as a global moral leader whose papacy was marked by humility, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to peace, social justice, and the dignity of all people.

The statement read: “Nigeria commiserates with the teaming population of the catholic church in the country and joins the international community, particularly the Catholic faithful worldwide, in mourning this immense loss. Pope Francis’ deep concern for the marginalized; including refugees, the poor, and victims of conflict, resonated strongly in Nigeria, where his calls for interreligious harmony and solidarity were a beacon of hope amid challenges.

“His historic 2022 apology for the Church’s role in colonial injustices, including the suffering of Indigenous peoples, indeed set a powerful example of reconciliation. Also worthy of commendation is his advocacy for peace in Africa, and other conflict areas in the world, reflecting his universal pastoral mission.”

The statement further read that: “In this moment of grief, therefore, Nigeria extends heartfelt condolences to the Vatican, the Catholic Church, and the Argentine people, who gifted the world this extraordinary pontiff.

“We pray for the repose of his soul and trust that his legacy of mercy, dialogue, and care for our common home will endure.”

Nigeria Commiserates with Catholic Church Over Demise of Pope Francis

International

Chinese National Abducted in Durumi Abuja, as Kidnappers demand N300million ransom

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Chinese National Abducted in Durumi Abuja, as Kidnappers demand N300million ransom

By: Zagazola Makama

A suspected abduction occurred on April 18, 2025, when Mr. Yangi Ming, a Chinese national working at Panda Supermarket in Jabi, was reportedly abducted by unknown individuals.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that Mr Yangi Ming left his residence at Stargate Apartment in Durumi around 1700hrs and was last seen wearing brown shorts and a black polo shirt.

His sister, Aisha Pan, residing in Sharanda, Kano State, later received a ransom demand of ₦300 million, made from Yangi Ming’s mobile phone number.

Chinese National Abducted in Durumi Abuja, as Kidnappers demand N300million ransom

International

India-bound Siblings Arrested with Cocaine at Lagos Airport

Published

2 weeks ago

April 7, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

India-bound Siblings Arrested with Cocaine at Lagos Airport

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two siblings at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos during a planned travel to India with 5 kilogrammes of cocaine.

The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said: “Operatives of a Special Operations Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested two brothers: John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, Lagos with 5 kilogrammes cocaine concealed in walls of their suitcases while attempting to board a flight to India.”

He said the two brothers were arrested at the Lagos airport last Thursday following proactive processing of credible intelligence. He said they claimed they were travelling to India for medical treatment but when their suitcases were thoroughly searched by NDLEA officers, whitish powdery substances later confirmed to be cocaine were discovered on the walls of their bags.

Babafemi said in a similar development, NDLEA officers of the MMIA Strategic Command same day, Thursday intercepted a 20-year-old Ghanaian – British man, Parker Osei with 36 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 19.4 kilogrammes packed in a giant travelling bag. The suspect who claims he is a student of Computer Science at East London University, UK, was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand, at the E-arrival hall of the Lagos airport.

In his statement, the techie claims he lives with his parents in the UK but left London about a week ago for Bangkok where he picked up the illicit drug consignment to deliver in Nigeria.

NDLEA operatives in Kogi state have arrested a 33-year-old woman, Ngozi Ogili while moving 3 kilogrammes of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja. She was nabbed in a commercial transport bus along Okene-Lokoja highway last Monday. Babafemi said a follow up operation at her point of delivery in Apo mechanic area of Abuja led to the seizure of quantities of Loud and Colorado, both synthetic strains of cannabis.

In Abia state, NDLEA officers on Saturday arrested a 75-year-old grandpa, Nnanna Felix with 1.6 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis during a raid at Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West local government area, while another suspect David Chinemerem, 21, was nabbed with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine at 7 Nnajiego Lane, Umuode road, Aba last Tuesday.

No fewer than 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu along Potiskum-Damaturu road, Yobe state by NDLEA operatives on Saturday, just as raid operations at Osogbo motor park, Onitsha and a house at Oba in Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra state led to the arrest of Obinna Sunday and the seizure of 195,000 pills of tramadol. Also arrested during the raid at the motor park was Ugochukwu Ojalanonye with 4.2 kilogrammes codeine syrup and 5.4kg pentazocine.

In the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, NDLEA operatives last Thursday arrested 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25 kilogrammes skunk and 90.4 grammes of methamphetamine during a raid operation at Wuse market Abuja, while two women: Faith Etim, 64, and Victoria Etim, 40, were nabbed lasr Friday when NDLEA operatives supported by men of the Nigerian Army raided cannabis plantations in Esuk-Odot community, Odukpani local government area of Cross River State where 250,000 kilogrammes of the psychoactive plant were destroyed on over 100 hectares of farm land.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of MMIA, SOU, Yobe, Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Cross River and FCT commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

India-bound Siblings Arrested with Cocaine at Lagos Airport