UN body tackles shelter crisis in North East

• As HURIWA condemns release of terrorists • Says freeing mass killers high treason

UNITED Nations migration agency, International Organisation for Migration ( IOM), has said it is working towards building permanent shelters for persons affected by humanitarian crisis in North East.

Chief of Mission, IOM Nigeria, Laurent de Boeck, made this known at a media briefing ahead of the launch of the durable solutions housing project competition, tagged ‘ Home After Crisis’, yesterday in Abuja.

He said: “Since 2015, the North East of Nigeria has faced escalating violence leading to an unprecedented housing emergency. “As of 2023, an estimated 3.5 million has lost their homes or lived in precarious conditions.

“Nigeria currently experiences an acute housing deficit estimated at around 23 million, requiring the construction of one million housing units yearly for the next 20 years.

De Boeck said the programme hoped to change mindsets and the way humanitarian intervention is perceived as it transitions to durable solutions, a gradual shift from the norm. He spoke just as Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria ( HURIWA) issued a stern condemnation of the release of over 1,935 repen - tant Boko Haram terrorists back into the society between 2016 and 2022 after report - edly undergoing deradicalisation.

The organisation considered the action as threat to national security and attributed the escalating insecurity to the actions of security institutions, who release hardened and ideologically rooted terrorists back into the society even when their victims are yet to get justice for the heinous crimes against against them.

In a statement, HURIWA, signed by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, challenged the wisdom in releasing individuals responsible for heinous crimes back into society.