At least 223 children, including 10 girls, have recently been cleared of suspected ties with armed groups in Nigeria, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.
The children were released late Tuesday from the Nigerian army administrative custody and Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison in the northeastern part of Nigeria, said Peter Hawkins, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
Some of the children had been missing for up to four to five years, with many presumed dead by their families, according to Hawkins.
"The release of these children is a huge step forward and one to be welcomed and celebrated," the UNICEF official said.
The children will now immediately enter a program that will help them reintegrate into their communities, re-engage with families, and take the first steps toward creating a new life and means of livelihood, he said.
"These children deserve to have a normal childhood and now require our full care and support to re-enter the lives that were so brutally interrupted by this devastating conflict," he added.
Since 2016, about 3,559 people associated with armed groups had been released from administrative custody, including 1,743 children, or 1,125 boys and 618 girls, according to official data by the UNICEF.
UNICEF is working closely with Nigerian state authorities to help with reintegration programs for all children formerly associated with non-state armed groups, and others affected by the ongoing conflict in Nigeria's northeast region, said Hawkins.
Xinhua
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Six killed in attack on Nigeria military base
Armed assailants killed four police officers and two civilian militiamen in an attack on a military base in northeast Nigeria's Borno state on Wednesday.
Suspected Boko Haram fighters in trucks fitted with machine guns launched the dawn raid on the army base in the town of Damboa, sparking intense fighting.
"We lost four mobile policemen and two civilian militia fighting alongside soldiers during the fight with the terrorists," said a military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Anti-armed group leader Ibrahim Liman confirmed the death toll, after supporting soldiers during the attack.
Local resident Modu Malari said the assailants attacked with assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, but were forced out from the town by troops after a fierce two-hour battle.
More than 50 residents were wounded by shrapnel from grenades fired by the rebels, he said.
Damboa lies on the fringe of Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold, from where the group has launched repeated attacks on villages and military posts.
In November last year, at least 10 Nigerian soldiers were killed and nine injured in a Boko Haram ambush in Muchima village, outside Damboa.
Boko Haram's campaign began in 2009 and has displaced more than 2.2 million people across Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon since, with no signs of slowing down despite counterattacks by a joint multinational force across borders.
Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram faction, has also gone on a spree of violence, attacking military formations in those countries.
In Mali and Burkina Faso, groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin have followed suit, killing thousands of people in recent years.
Al Jazeera
Suspected Boko Haram fighters in trucks fitted with machine guns launched the dawn raid on the army base in the town of Damboa, sparking intense fighting.
"We lost four mobile policemen and two civilian militia fighting alongside soldiers during the fight with the terrorists," said a military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Anti-armed group leader Ibrahim Liman confirmed the death toll, after supporting soldiers during the attack.
Local resident Modu Malari said the assailants attacked with assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, but were forced out from the town by troops after a fierce two-hour battle.
More than 50 residents were wounded by shrapnel from grenades fired by the rebels, he said.
Damboa lies on the fringe of Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold, from where the group has launched repeated attacks on villages and military posts.
In November last year, at least 10 Nigerian soldiers were killed and nine injured in a Boko Haram ambush in Muchima village, outside Damboa.
Boko Haram's campaign began in 2009 and has displaced more than 2.2 million people across Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon since, with no signs of slowing down despite counterattacks by a joint multinational force across borders.
Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram faction, has also gone on a spree of violence, attacking military formations in those countries.
In Mali and Burkina Faso, groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin have followed suit, killing thousands of people in recent years.
Al Jazeera
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
At least 50 killed in northern Nigeria 'bandit' attacks
At least 50 people were killed in multiple attacks by armed bandits on villages in an area of northern Nigeria rife with cattle theft and kidnappings, local officials said on Monday.
Sources said about 100 armed assailants stormed into the villages of Kerawa, Zareyawa and Minda in Kaduna state at dawn on Sunday, gunning down worshippers as they left a mosque for morning prayers before killing residents and burning and looting homes.
"So far 50 bodies have been recovered but the figure is not conclusive and is very likely to rise as rescue efforts are still under way," said Zayyad Ibrahim, a legislator in the Nigerian parliament.
Several people were wounded in the attacks and taken to nearby hospitals, Ibrahim said.
The assault was in retaliation for villagers allegedly assisting recent army operations against the so-called bandits in their forest hideouts, local counsellor Dayyabu Kerawa said.
"The bandits accused residents from the targeted villages of providing information about their hideouts to the military," said Kerawa. "We buried 51 victims yesterday."
Kaduna police spokesman Mohammed Jalige said authorities were investigating the attacks.
Escalation in violence
Violence has soared in northwest Nigeria in recent years as criminal gangs involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping have carried out bloody raids on villages.
Armed groups attack from hideouts in nearby forests, exploiting a lack of security across the region.
The Birnin Gwari and Giwa districts of Kaduna state have been hit by violence and repeated reprisal attacks between bandits and local vigilante groups.
Security forces in February announced a sweeping operation aimed at armed gangs in the area.
Last month 21 people, including 16 members of one family, were killed when bandits attacked a village in a reprisal attack.
Authorities in several states in northwest Nigeria have sought peace deals with the bandits to stop the bloodshed but these have failed to end the instability.
Al Jazeera
Sources said about 100 armed assailants stormed into the villages of Kerawa, Zareyawa and Minda in Kaduna state at dawn on Sunday, gunning down worshippers as they left a mosque for morning prayers before killing residents and burning and looting homes.
"So far 50 bodies have been recovered but the figure is not conclusive and is very likely to rise as rescue efforts are still under way," said Zayyad Ibrahim, a legislator in the Nigerian parliament.
Several people were wounded in the attacks and taken to nearby hospitals, Ibrahim said.
The assault was in retaliation for villagers allegedly assisting recent army operations against the so-called bandits in their forest hideouts, local counsellor Dayyabu Kerawa said.
"The bandits accused residents from the targeted villages of providing information about their hideouts to the military," said Kerawa. "We buried 51 victims yesterday."
Kaduna police spokesman Mohammed Jalige said authorities were investigating the attacks.
Escalation in violence
Violence has soared in northwest Nigeria in recent years as criminal gangs involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping have carried out bloody raids on villages.
Armed groups attack from hideouts in nearby forests, exploiting a lack of security across the region.
The Birnin Gwari and Giwa districts of Kaduna state have been hit by violence and repeated reprisal attacks between bandits and local vigilante groups.
Security forces in February announced a sweeping operation aimed at armed gangs in the area.
Last month 21 people, including 16 members of one family, were killed when bandits attacked a village in a reprisal attack.
Authorities in several states in northwest Nigeria have sought peace deals with the bandits to stop the bloodshed but these have failed to end the instability.
Al Jazeera
Monday, March 2, 2020
Nigeria Finds Over 100 People Exposed to First Coronavirus Case
Nigerian health authorities have reached out to over 100 people who had contact with the Italian man who tested positive for the coronavirus and asked them to remain in self-isolation.
The Italian citizen arrived in Lagos earlier this week on a commercial flight from Milan and traveled to neighboring Ogun state for business. He’s the first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa.
Lafarge Africa Plc said it has quarantined 39 people who were in contact with him, a vendor for the company. It added in a statement that its cement factory in Ogun state remains open.
Authorities traced people who traveled with the patient and stayed at the same hotel and asked for them to remain isolated for 14 days while undergoing daily temperature checks, said Akin Abayomi, the Lagos state commissioner for health.
“The numbers keep changing -- they are going up gradually,” said Abayomi, adding that he calculates authorities have identified more than 100 people across the country. He said none of those in isolation in Lagos have presented any symptoms yet.
Nigerians have complained on social media about shortages of face masks and hand sanitizer in Lagos and the capital Abuja, with some saying prices have tripled.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, the country’s biggest city with about 20 million people, suspended shaking hands during Mass and called on congregations to reduce gatherings over Lent.
The Italian man who tested positive for the virus is in stable condition and showing signs of improvement, Abayomi said. He denied local media reports that the patient had tried to escape isolation due to poor conditions in the hospital, but said he was moved to another facility because the ward was undergoing renovation.
By Alonso Soto, With assistance by Tope Alake, and Anthony Osae-Brown
Bloomberg
The Italian citizen arrived in Lagos earlier this week on a commercial flight from Milan and traveled to neighboring Ogun state for business. He’s the first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa.
Lafarge Africa Plc said it has quarantined 39 people who were in contact with him, a vendor for the company. It added in a statement that its cement factory in Ogun state remains open.
Authorities traced people who traveled with the patient and stayed at the same hotel and asked for them to remain isolated for 14 days while undergoing daily temperature checks, said Akin Abayomi, the Lagos state commissioner for health.
“The numbers keep changing -- they are going up gradually,” said Abayomi, adding that he calculates authorities have identified more than 100 people across the country. He said none of those in isolation in Lagos have presented any symptoms yet.
Nigerians have complained on social media about shortages of face masks and hand sanitizer in Lagos and the capital Abuja, with some saying prices have tripled.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, the country’s biggest city with about 20 million people, suspended shaking hands during Mass and called on congregations to reduce gatherings over Lent.
The Italian man who tested positive for the virus is in stable condition and showing signs of improvement, Abayomi said. He denied local media reports that the patient had tried to escape isolation due to poor conditions in the hospital, but said he was moved to another facility because the ward was undergoing renovation.
By Alonso Soto, With assistance by Tope Alake, and Anthony Osae-Brown
Bloomberg
'Nigeria will deal with this': High alert after coronavirus case
Health authorities in Nigeria are ramping up efforts to detect and contain the new coronavirus after Africa's most populous country confirmed its first case, calling on citizens to avoid panicking or spreading unverified information about the disease.An Italian citizen working in Nigeria tested positive for the virus on Thursday after falling ill following his arrival in the commercial hub of Lagos from Milan in northern Italy, an area that has emerged as Europe's coronavirus hotspot.
The man, who has since been isolated at a hospital in Yaba, is "clinically stable" and has not developed serious symptoms, according to health officials.
"We have already started working to identify all the contacts of the patient since he entered Nigeria," Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria's health minister, told reporters in the capital, Abuja. "We have continued to beef our own security. The level of preparedness continues to improve of Nigeria every day."
Public health professionals who spoke to Al Jazeera expressed confidence in the West African country's ability to contain the spread of the virus. They pointed to key lessons from its successful response to an Ebola outbreak more than five years ago, as well as a series of measures already put in place before the arrival of the coronavirus.
Along with heightening screening at points of entry, particularly at airports, authorities have established testing capacity in four laboratories and expanded surveillance to follow up with travellers from countries affected by the infectious disease - officially known as COVID-19 - within 14 days of arriving in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has also supported the activation of emergency operation centres to serve as coordination platforms, while its Coronavirus Preparedness Group meets daily to review the situation and manage the response efforts.
The agency has meanwhile issued a public health advisory to inform Nigerians about symptoms and preventive measures, and has provided a toll-free number for guidance.
May Ubeku, a public health practitioner and epidemiologist, said Nigerian health authorities were "fully prepared" to contain the spread of the coronavirus, citing the series of measures introduced since January.
First sub-Saharan African case
Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa's first country to register a case of the virus, which has killed some 2,900 people and infected more than 86,000 worldwide, the vast majority in China where it originated late last year.
Medical experts had long expected the arrival of the deadly virus in sub-Saharan Africa, pointing to the deep trade and travel ties between China and a number of countries on the continent.
In mid-February, health ministers of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) converged in Mali's capital, Bamako, to develop a regional preparedness plan and boost cross-border collaboration to promote rapid diagnosis and containment.
Parts of West Africa already share a painful experience of trying to tackle the major Ebola outbreak that ravaged the region between 2013 and 2016 and killed more than 11,000 people.
In Nigeria, the first case of Ebola was detected in July 2014 following the arrival of an infected Liberian man at the Lagos international airport. The man, who died in hospital, set off a chain of transmission that killed seven people out of a total of 19 infections. But months later, the country was declared Ebola-free, with the World Health Organization (WHO) hailing a "spectacular success story" and commending authorities for their "effective coordination of the response".
'Nigeria will deal with it'
Ifeanyi Nsofor, who graduated from Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity programme at George Washington University in 2019, cited Nigeria's experience in stamping out Ebola, as well as polio, as promising signs in the fight to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
In August last year, Nigeria went three years without a case of wild poliovirus and is due to receive a wild polio-free status in June 2020 - a gigantic shift from 2012 when it accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.
The country adopted various measures to achieve this milestone, notably establishing emergency operations centres to respond to polio outbreaks and enhancing collaboration among health agencies and international partners. It also conducted a large-scale polio vaccination campaign that involved volunteers, community groups and religious and traditional institutions amid efforts to raise awareness.
"The structures are still in place," Nsofor said, adding that Nigeria can count on the "massive" network of health workers who were deployed to tackle polio and Ebola.
"Nigeria will deal with this [coronavirus]."
Still, Nsofor, CEO of EpiAFRIC, an Abuja-based public health consultancy, expressed concern that much of the coronavirus containment effort seems to be concentrated on airports in big cities.
"Our weakest link is our land borders, [which] are porous," he explained, urging health authorities to intensify surveillance.
Social media warning
The confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 comes at a time when Nigeria is still battling an outbreak of Lassa fever, which has caused 118 deaths since the beginning of the year.
Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and some parts of West Africa and is predominantly transmitted via food or household items contaminated by rodent urine or faeces.
Ukam Edadi, programme coordinator of Lagos-based Citizens Health Initiative Nigeria, a group campaigning for citizens' right to accessible and quality healthcare, called for continuous training of the health workforce involved in tackling epidemics alongside an "aggressive and intensive health education on respiratory hygiene in the media, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques" to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the arrival of coronavirus in Lagos, an overcrowded megacity of some 20 million people, has sparked fears among residents amid reports of people scrambling to buy hygiene products. On Saturday, two locals told Al Jazeera that they visited pharmacies and stores but did not find any protective masks and hand sanitisers to buy.
"People are scared, people are panicking but the most important thing that people will do is to get appropriate and credible information" from credible organisations and authorities such as the NCDC, the health ministry and the WHO, explained Nsofor.
Health officials and public health professionals have also expressed concerns that online platforms could trigger the rise of myths and misinformation about the disease.
"Citizens must not abuse social media and indulge in spreading misinformation that causes fear and panic," Nigeria's health ministry said in a statement earlier this week.
By Linus Unah
Al Jazeera
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