According to a Tuesday
Daily Mail report, while some Boko Haram suicide bombers and militants were
seen heading for Europe, others had begun to travel to join and fight for the
Islamic State in Syria.
Boko Haram camps in the
North-East have been hit with food scarcity thereby forcing indoctrinated
members of the militant sect to continue to move out in droves, intelligence
sources have said.
A source linked to
Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency was quoted as saying that, “They (Boko
Haram refugees) will soon start showing up on the Mediterranean’s shores.
“Some of these people are
trained suicide bombers and fighters, including children as young as 10. They
have all been indoctrinated by Boko Haram and they could soon turn up in
Europe’s capitals.”
Intelligence sources also
reported that human traffickers from the ISIS-backed terror group were
transporting girls and young men across the Sahara into Libya.
The situation, they said,
was even more worrisome because “five children are dying an hour with 250,000
at risk of starvation while parliament remains hamstrung in a political
wrangle.”
The crisis is being blamed
on the instability in the Senate attributed to the criminal charges pressed by
the Federal Government against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.
Daily Mail quoted an
intelligence source as saying that Saraki’s prosecution had been obstructing
his attempt to get the Senate to pass a motion to grant £215m in aid to tackle
the emergency in the North-East.
He said, “This case needs a
swift conclusion for the country to unite and tackle the very serious issues of
famine, security and a stumbling economy.
“This famine must not
happen on our watch. I have seen the plight of these people with my own eyes
and it is desperate. The government is making every effort to ensure money is
available to fully address this issue.”
He said the situation was
not justifiable after Britain had committed to spending £860m foreign aid to
Nigeria, to help support the country’s efforts to crush Boko Haram terror
group.
The report quoted a British
public health expert who has just returned from Borno region, Dr. Yodi Alakija,
as describing the situation as an “international crisis.”
“The UN requires Nigeria to
declare it a humanitarian disaster to get relief. This is not a time for
politics or game playing. Five children are dying an hour every single day.
“This requires urgent
action. We need people to drop their political differences and come together.
They can fight later when the children are ok.”
The medic, who works for
UNICEF, warned, “If we do not make adequate provision for these people there
could be an exodus. That’s when Europe will panic and it will happen when
people have nothing and take desperate measures.”
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