Humanitarian bodies want protection for own workers

Humanitarian organisations operating in Nigeria have called on the government to ensure absolute protection of their workers in the country.

The organisations converged on Abuja yesterday to mark this year’s World Humanitarian Day with an awareness walk within the city.

Speaking after the walk, the Federal Commissioner of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) Sadiya Umar Farouk lamented that statistics have shown that there had been hundreds of cases of violence against Humanitarian workers while many had lost their lives in the process.

While noting that increasing economic crisis and global challenges such as poverty, global health problems had called for more humanitarian work, the Federal Commissioner who was represented at the occasion by the organisation’s Assistant Director in charge of Internally Displaced Persons, Musa Kangiwa, said Nigerians must work towards finding solutions to the problems of the country.

Similarly, the DirectorGeneral of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja said the theme of this year’s celebration: “#NotATarget” was aimed at the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers as well as the survival, well-being and dignity of the people affected by crisis.