By Asma’u Ahmad
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mr. Peter Maurer, has met with Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja to discuss the humanitarian situation in the country.
The Media Officer of ICRC in Nigeria, Mr. Adewole Ajao, who made this known in a statement, said the discussions focused on addressing the scale of humanitarian needs in the Middle Belt and Niger Delta
regions.
He said that the livelihoods of millions of people had been affected by conflict in the Northeast, Middle Belt and Niger Delta hence the
need for urgent intervention.
Mr. Ajao said that Maurer also met and supported persons affected by urban violence in some shanty towns in Port Harcourt.
He said that ICRC gave grants to 240 women breadwinners to start small businesses, drilled a borehole and installed water pipes to increase
access to water in the communities.
He said Mr. Maurer also met with the Nigerian private and corporate community in Lagos to discuss innovative partnerships to encourage
them in supporting humanitarian efforts to respond to the needs of people affected by armed conflicts and violence.
Ajao said ICRC president opened a workshop in Abuja on the integration of international humanitarian law and international human rights law into the operations of the Economic Community of West African States.
He said the workshop would address, among others, the inclusion of relevant legal concepts into the planning of military operations.
“50 participants, including the ECOWAS Stand by Force Chief of Staff, two members each from the 15 troop contributing countries, officials from the police and civilian components would attend the ICRC workshop,” he said.
