…Says 1.2 million Nigerians affected by explosives in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Federal Government has inaugurated the National Humanitarian Mine Action Committee (NHMAC) to tackle the menace of Explosive Ordinance (EO) in the North-East and other parts of Nigeria.
Speaking during the occasion in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq said the essence of the Committee was to save citizens in the north east and other parts of the country from the threat of explosive ordnances.
The Minister noted that when an armed conflict is over, the battlefields are often littered with explosive debris, and that much of the debris are still dangerous, especially stocks of weapons left behind by combatants and explosive munitions that were fired but failed to go off as intended.
According her, as seen in other parts of the world, long after conflicts have ended, explosive ordnance could continue to kill, injure and impact the daily life of affected communities.
The Minister noted that each year large numbers of civilians are killed and injured by “explosive remnants of war”, adding that these are the unexploded weapons such as artillery shells, mortars, grenades, bombs and rockets, left behind after an armed conflict.
According to her, a new and more complex contamination, that includes improvised explosive devices (IEDs), has a severe impact on civilians and infrastructure.
The Minister also noted that in Nigeria , as the security situation in the North east continues to improve , and people , IDPs, and refugees are being resettled, many innocent civilians have lost their lives and limbs by disturbing or inadvertently coming into contact with explosive remnants of war.
She therefore stressed the need for the inauguration of the National Humanitarian Mine Action Committee, to save citizens in the north east from the threat of explosive ordnances, adding that Committee would eventually transform into National Mine Action Centre that would develop national capacity for Humanitarian Mine Action.
She said,”According to the UN Humanitarian Programme Cycle 2022 issued February 2022, approximately 1.2 million individuals in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, continue to be affected by the widespread and indiscriminate use of EO, including refugees, IDPs, returnees and host communities. Since 2016, 755 civilians have been killed and 1,321 injured by EO – a rate of more than one civilian every day.
“The most recent incident is August this year where 13 people were killed by explosive ordnances in Bama LGA of Borno State. Given the absence of a comprehensive incident-data-tracking system, these figures are likely to be a significant underestimate. The majority of victims are men involved in farming, travelling and scrap metal collection. Women and children are also at risk while collecting wood, shepherding and playing.
“Notably, the number of explosive incidents has increased in 2021, with 293 explosive incidents recorded from January to the first week of November 2021 as compared to 295 for the whole of 2020.
“For the civilians and communities in war-affected areas of the north east , the presence of these weapons represents an ongoing threat. These weapons can also hinder reconstruction and threaten economic livelihood. Houses, hospitals and schools cannot be rebuilt until such weapons are cleared. Contaminated land cannot be farmed. Explosive ordnance (EO), most notably improvised explosive devices, causes deaths and severe injuries, impedes access to basic services and socio-economic activities, and hampers safe resettlement and movement of refugees, IDPs and returnees.
“EO results in tragic deaths and injury, impedes access to basic services and socio-economic activities, and hampers safe resettlement and population movements. IEDs – often known as ‘weapons in waiting’ – are particularly destructive. The presence of EO prevents safe access to agricultural land (essential for food security), restricts freedom of movement (critical for protection) and hinders early recovery. EO has an adverse impact on health, including an increase in psychosocial distress and GBV incidents. Without a proper NTS, EO can also impede the distribution of food and NFIs.
“Additionally, local communities often have no means of dealing with the problem themselves. Most do not have the technical capacity or the resources to clear explosive remnants of war safely and few the resources needed to deal with the psychological, medical and rehabilitative needs of victims. For a safe return of our IDPs, refugees in the north east, as well as for farming activities to resume, agricultural lands must be surveyed for explosive contamination, and farmers provided with Explosive Ordnance Risk Education.
“It is for this reason, that President Muhammadu Buhari, during the commemoration of the World Humanitarian Day 2022, directed the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, to come up with a solution to the threat of explosive ordnance.
“It is therefore, in compliance with that Presidential Directive, to save our citizens in the north east from the threat of explosive ordnances, that I am today inaugurating the National Humanitarian Mine Action Committee. It is expected that this Committee will eventually transform into National Mine Action Centre that will develop national capacity for Humanitarian Mine Action.”
The Minister urged members of the Committee to commit themselves to the assignment of saving lives, while urging all stakeholders to support the committee.
“To the members of this Committee, I charge you to commit yourselves to this important assignment as your commitment will not only save lives but also enable Nigeria to fulfill her obligations under international treaties that require the country to assist victims of explosive ordnance.
“To our partners, donors, UN agencies, and diplomatic representations, I urge you all to support the work of this Committee as Nigeria moves towards building national capacity in Humanitarian Mine Action,” she said.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Committee, Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (Rtd), said the problem of mine is that long after conflicts have ended, most of the remaining debris buried are unexploded and waiting for any contact to explode.
“Believe it or not. The problem of mine is that long after the conflict has ended, people have forgotten that this has remained buried, waiting for one small child looking for firewood for a farmer or children sometimes they find it as a toy and before you know it, people are dead. I want us to recall even after the civil war fought in 1970, as recent as 2012 there were explosives that were exposed in some parts of the southeast.
“So this is the issue you know, the war will end hopefully, but these things will remain there because some of the bombs either from aircraft or from artillery, they land in a soft place, they don’t explode. It’s like anything technical. Sometimes they explode. Sometimes they just wait, but little pressure you know.. marching on them, then they go off.
“So that is what we are trying by this program, we want to raise awareness. You know, if you see something that you don’t understand, please don’t touch it. Children should not see something shiny and say they are taking it. So that is the kind of awareness we want to create.
“And ideally, in areas where there has been conflict, where it is finished, there is what is called technical survey to identify where those areas are. There is also a technical survey that follows to destroy those things and then land release. Ideally in the situation they should not just tell people to go back to the farm in Bama. Before they go back to the farm there should be land survey and land release.
“So now there are experts that will clear that this area is safe for whether it is for development, whether it is for farming or for whatever human activity,” he said.
The Coordinator noted that the role the Committee is going to play, is to bring awareness to the people living in those areas that had conflict, adding that even if the conflict is over, there are still some remnants of explosive ordnance that could be IED.
“It could be aircraft bomb, it could be artillery shells, so the awareness is that before the clearance is done, people should be careful,” he explained.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, Dr Nasir Sani Gwarzo pointed out that the Ministry has been in existence for three years, and many of its mandates has reached maturity, adding that a lot of additional programs that are both of national interest and of international concern are equally due.
Gwarzo said one of such programs is the effects of mines and explosives and how it affects people, particularly in communities that have been devastated by conflicts.
“One of such very important programs in the history of our nation is the effects of mines and explosives and how it affects people, especially in communities that have been devastated, hitherto by civil unrest, or by terrorism. Such communities occasionally, in their bid to hurriedly go back to their destination to their homeland, go back at a great risk. And within the span of a few days, many members of such communities become victims of explosions of mines.
“As a result, the Honourable Minister directed that we should commence action on this. And those of us who would recall, Mr. President made this very clear directives also during his visit to Maiduguri, during the national Humanitarian Day of this year, and he directed that this program be rolled out.
“Today we are here to witness the inauguration of the committee that will steer the affairs of this committee, this program, as well as also educate the general public on the impact of the menace of mines and explosives in communities that have experienced unrest,”he explained.
Members of the National Humanitarian Mine Committee include: Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (Rtd) National Coordinator; Khailla Muhammed Lawan – NEDC – Member; Jato Usman Abba – FMHADMSD – Member; Adeyemi Jimoh Ademola – FMHADMSD- Member; Abdullahi Usur – NEMA – Member; Fatima Mamman Daura – NCFRMI – Member; and Representative of National Commission for Persons With Disabilities.
