ABOUT two million people are trapped in North-Eastern areas still controlled by Boko Haram and are facing serious humanitarian conditions, the United Nations has said.
This was disclosed on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, by UNICEF’s Chief of Nutrition in Nigeria, Arjan de Wagt, during a press briefing by the UN Information Service.
According to Mr Wagt, who spoke with an online news agency, Premium Times, on telephone from Abuja, about two million people are still in areas which are inaccessible because of the security situation.
The two million people are in Borno State alone, he told Premium Times.
Regarding Bama, he said there was only access to the town of Bama and the IDP camp there, but not the other parts of the town.
He said the situation of the people trapped in Boko Haram-held areas was unknown, but that sometimes, UNICEF managed to get a glimpse when IDPs from those areas came to more accessible areas.
UNICEF could then check their nutrition and health status, which was bad, he added.
“Before April 2016, there was no access to most areas in Borno State because of the security situation. But since April, access has progressively become possible to some of the other areas,” he noted.
Mr. Wagt also raised the alarm over looming humanitarian disaster in the North-East.