The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugee, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Sen. Basheer Garba Mohammed, has expressed the deep regrets of the Commission and condemned the tragic killing of four aid workers by armed fighters in the North East Nigeria on the 13TH of December 2019.
“I feel a personal sense of loss, that the lives of four aid workers, working in hard to reach areas with great resilience, trying to bring much needed help to millions of vulnerable people have been abruptly cut short in such a brutal and tragic manner,” stated Sen. Garba in a statement by his media aide Alkasim Abdulkadir.
He further prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed and for God to give their families the fortitude to bear the loss.
The aid workers were staff of the International Non-Governmental Organization, Action Against Hunger, who were abducted in Mobbar local government area of Borno State in July 2019.
The Federal Commissioner called for the release of Grace Taku, who was also in the team of the ACF on the day the tragic abduction occurred. “On behalf of the Commission, I also make a passionate appeal for the release of Grace Taku and all other civilians being held against their will as it is against the dictates of any religion or known rules of engagement”
He further stated that the Commission will officially commiserate with the ACF and find ways of bringing immediate succor to the families and dependents left behind by the aid workers.
This brings to six the number of aid workers lost by the INGO Action Against Hunger under very tragic circumstances in 2019 while in the course of bringing much needed lifesaving aid in inaccessible areas in the North East.
“As our partners and civilians, the death of these humanitarian workers not only diminishes us, but further reduces the window of accessing the vulnerable people we are trying to protect and bring to safety in a dignified manner”.
Humanitarian workers are not combatants and must be treated with dignity as civilians, the statement concluded.
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