Attack On UN Aid Workers: PDP Tells UN To Hold FG Responsible For Deaths

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the Federal Government to apprehend and prosecute the masterminds of the attack on Rann town.

Guterres, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, has also confirmed the evacuation of all humanitarian personnel and the temporary suspension of all humanitarian deliveries in the area.

He condemned the killing of three aid workers in Rann following an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on Thursday night.

The UN chief recalled that attacks targeting civilians and public infrastructure violated international humanitarian law.

“Those responsible for these and other atrocities in Nigeria must be apprehended and prosecuted,” the UN scribe said.

The Secretary-General called on all the parties to ensure, at all times, the protection of all civilians.

According to the UN, one aid worker remains critically injured and another three are still missing while eight members of the Nigerian national security forces were also killed.

The UN chief said, “As of the time of the attack, over 40 humanitarian workers were in Rann.

“All humanitarian personnel have been evacuated from Rann, and all humanitarian deliveries in the area have been temporarily suspended.”

The secretary-general expressed his deepest condolences to the affected aid workers, their families and to the government and people of Nigeria. He also wished those injured a swift recovery.

Meanwhile, an international organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières, popularly called Doctors Without Borders, has also suspended medical activities in Rann.

The MSF said it was leaving its patients, including 60 children currently enrolled on its nutrition programme, without medical assistance.

The French non-profit organisation also noted that it had evacuated 22 of its Nigerian and international staff from the troubled community.

The MSF in a statement on Saturday by its Field Communication Manager, Maro Verli, said while it was still unclear how many people were killed and injured, its medical staff “treated nine wounded patients.”

Also, the Peoples Democratic Party has condemned the murder of the aid workers and charged the UN and the international community to hold the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government accountable for their deaths.

A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, on Saturday, described the deaths as sad and disheartening.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, also on Saturday condemned the attack on humanitarian workers in Rann.

Dogara said the attack, which claimed lives, were “another low in the inhuman, repugnant, callous and barbaric acts” of the terrorist organisation.

Dogara in a statement said, “It is saddening that people who have been sacrificing to save lives and offer succour to our people in the North-East are now targets of the blood-thirsty terrorists.”