United Nations reveals the financial the cost of Boko Haram attacks in the North-east
- Islamist militant group Boko Haram has caused severe damages in the North-east
- The United Nations (UN) has released the financial cost of the insurgency in the region
- $9 billion of damage has been done since 2009
The United Nations say the financial cost of Boko Haram damage in the North-east is about $9 billion since 2009.
The terrorist group has been destroying homes, schools, bridges and roads, according to the United Nations, Bloomberg reports.
Borno state alone suffered losses worth $6.2 billion, Matthew Rycroft, the president of the UN Security Council, told reporters on Sunday, March 5 in Maidugiri.
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The UN is stepping up support to the region as many who fled Boko Haram violence are now facing a humanitarian crisis even as attacks on their communities abate, he said.
“The number of displaced is shocking, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is alarming,” Rycroft said. “It is like suffering twice.”
Boko Haram has waged an eight-year campaign, capturing towns and razing villages in a bid to impose its version of Islamic law in Nigeria.
The United Kingdom will contribute more money to help tackle a crisis that’s struggled to attract donor funds, said Rycroft, who’s also the British permanent secretary to the UN. He didn’t specify how much.
On his part, foreign affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama told reporters that Nigeria had spent $4 billion on the region, without giving further details.
Norway last month pledged $189.7 million over three years to Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad basin that’s been affected by the violence.
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Meanwhile, Major-General Lucky Irabor, the Theater Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-east, has said the increased wave of attacks by Boko Haram in the region was a sign that the military was winning the war against terror.
He said that the attacks were frusrated attempts by the insurgents to show that they still had some powers.
Source: Legit.ng
