Nigeria searches U.N. base without approval

Military may have been seeking terrorist leader

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Nigerian soldiers conducted an unauthorized search of a United Nations humanitarian base in the city where the Boko Haram insurgency began, the U.N. said Friday, expressing “grave concern” over the military’s actions.

Aid groups and Nigerian officials at times have been at odds in their approaches to the vast crisis in the country’s northeast, where millions have been uprooted during Boko Haram’s deadly eight-year insurgency.

“The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s northeast is one of the most severe in the world today,” Edward Kallon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, said in a statement. “I am extremely concerned that these actions could be detrimental to the critical work that is being carried out every day to support the most vulnerable in the region, and I call upon the government of Nigeria to provide clarification.”

Local media reported that large numbers of soldiers surrounded the U.N. building in Maiduguri on Friday morning searching for arms. The U.N. said the search lasted three hours before the soldiers departed. It said it had no information “regarding the reason or motivations for the unauthorized search.”

Nigeria’s military confirmed the incident in a separate statement, saying its actions were in line with ongoing search efforts in counter-insurgency operations. It said no arrests were made.

The U.N. property searched “did not carry a U.N. designation,” the military added.

Rumors have spread that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau may have been taking refuge in one of the U.N. buildings. Nigeria’s military recently intensified its search for Shekau, recently announcing a 40day ultimatum for its commanders to find him.

Maiduguri and the northeast remain at risk of deadly attacks by Boko Haram.