Humanitarian Day: Our story, by aid workers

Nigerian humanitarian workers have raised the alarm over the safety of aid workers in the country on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day. They said they have been under constant attack from non-state actors who do not respect international laws in a war situation. Speaking to Daily Trust in Borno, Mustapha Kolo, a humanitarian […]

Nigerian humanitarian workers have raised the alarm over the safety of aid workers in the country on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day.

They said they have been under constant attack from non-state actors who do not respect international laws in a war situation.

Speaking to Daily Trust in Borno, Mustapha Kolo, a humanitarian worker, said he survived five deadly attacks in the course of carrying out humanitarian activities in Damasak and Dikwa local government areas of Borno State.

Kolo, who pleaded not to mention the name of his NGO, said he started humanitarian work as a volunteer, a driver and a worker, and had seen it all in the profession.

Kolo said, within the over a decade in the line of duty, he escaped Boko Haram attacks three times in Damasak and twice along Dikwa Road.

“In Damasak, we were surrounded by the insurgents who infiltrated the town from Maiduguri Road on Saturday, around 3pm. That particular attack led to the closure of all humanitarian activities in Damasak.

“They burned down all NGO offices and attacked military barracks. In fact, some workers narrowly survived the raging fire in the Humanitarian hub bunker.

“They nearly overran the military barrack, up to the second gate before the insurgents withdrew. We later got a signal, and three UN helicopters were deployed to save our lives.

“We were evacuated by the United Nations air support at a time the insurgents planned a second attack on the barrack. Ten of us in each of the three choppers were airlifted to Maiduguri.

“If not for the prompt response, it would have been a different thing because our exit route was also blocked by a group of Fulani herdsmen who claimed that some residents of Damasak had killed their animals.

“They even wounded a mechanic I knew with an arrow before we rushed back into the town to wait for the UN support,“ he said.

Kolo said aid organisations had started witnessing a shortage of capacity building, especially in the areas of safety and security management, since the funding issue began.

“Everything shrunk by almost 60 per cent. Stability and wellbeing of humanitarian staff have completely changed due to the USAID fund withdrawal.

“Right now, most of the workers are surviving on part time jobs, using the little knowledge we gained working as humanitarian workers to mingle in the community because most of our contracts have been terminated,” he said.

 

‘I escaped suicide bomber attack’

Another aid worker, who gave his name as Adamu, said the life of a humanitarian worker in Nigeria is constantly at serious risk.

He recalled how he narrowly escaped a recent suicide bomb attack on the outskirts of Maiduguri, saying, “the attacks by the non-state actors also affect us because they don’t inform anybody that they are coming.“

“Attacks on nearby communities to Maiduguri had affected an NGO staff and I could have been a victim too in the recent suicide attack in Konduga and Dalori.

“One of our colleagues was killed in Gwoza in June, another consultant doctor was killed in Monguno,” he added.

 

‘Boko Haram sacked us after investing millions on farms’

Another humanitarian worker, who pleaded anonymity, said his contract was terminated last month and he’s struggling to survive the economic hardship in the country.

He said that himself and many other humanitarian workers who have been relieved of their contracts, invested in farming this season but were sacked by the Boko Haram insurgents.

“We invested millions of naira on the farms but we were chased out by the terrorists.

“They forced us to abandon everything and relocate to the town; all we invested has gone down the drain,” he said.

 

383 aid workers killed

A record 383 aid workers were killed in 2024, the United Nations said Tuesday, branding the figures and lack of accountability a “shameful indictment” of international apathy – and warning that this year’s toll was equally disturbing.

The 2024 figure was up 31 per cent on the year before, the UN said on World Humanitarian Day.

It said this is “driven by the relentless conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives.”

It said state actors were the most common perpetrators of the killings in 2024.

The UN said most of those killed were local staff attacked in the line of duty or in their homes.

Besides those killed, 308 aid workers were wounded, 125 kidnapped, and 45 detained last year.

“Humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“This rule is non-negotiable and is binding on all parties to conflict, always and everywhere. Yet red lines are crossed with impunity.”

He called for perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, the Network for Civil Society Organizations in Borno State reports that approximately 12 aid workers lost their lives in the line of duty between 2018 and the present.

According to the source, these individuals made the ultimate sacrifice while serving communities affected by conflict and crisis, and their dedication must be honoured and remembered.

 

Authorities must bring perpetrators to book – OCHA

Provisional figures from the Aid Worker Security Database show that 265 aid workers have been killed this year, up to August 14.

“Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,” said UN aid chief Tom Fletcher, head of its humanitarian agency OCHA.

“Violence against aid workers is not inevitable. It must end.”

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement said 18 of their staff and volunteers had been killed so far this year “while carrying out their life-saving work”.

“Each killing sends a dangerous message that their lives were expendable. They were not,” the movement said.

Meanwhile, the UN’s World Health Organisation said 1,121 health workers and patients had been killed and hundreds injured in attacks across 16 territories – though most deaths were in Sudan.

“Each attack inflicts lasting harm, deprives entire communities of life-saving care when they need it the most, endangers health care providers, and weakens already strained health systems,” the WHO said.

OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said “very, very few” people had “ever been brought to justice for any of these attacks”, with the UN human rights office urging countries to bring perpetrators to account using the principle of universal jurisdiction.

 

FG, UN demand protection for aid workers

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the United Nations have demanded the protection of humanitarian workers and the people they seek to help.

The call is contained in a joint communiqué by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, during the event to commemorate the World Humanitarian Day 2025 in Abuja on Tuesday.

At the event, the Federal Government, the UN system and humanitarian partners honour the memory of colleagues, many of them national staff, who have lost their lives helping people affected by conflict and disasters.

“We urgently call for the protection of humanitarian workers and civilians across the globe,” the communique said in part, calling for international humanitarian law to be upheld.

They insisted that protection be provided to all those affected by conflict and disaster, adding that, “We particularly call for the protection of women and girls, who are among the most vulnerable and most profoundly affected.”

“Attacks on humanitarian workers and more, importantly, the people they seek to assist, must stop.”This year’s World Humanitarian Day comes at a time when global solidarity with people in humanitarian need is at its lowest ebb. International humanitarian financing is collapsing.

“In Nigeria, humanitarian operations must become more efficient, accountable and transparent. They must be led by the government and implemented by local partners, to the extent possible, and funded through local resources supported by the international community,” the communique said.

Towards this end, the humanitarian community in Nigeria commits to fully supporting humanitarian response and action under the leadership and guidance of the government.

They also pledged to work with the government to ensure a transition from an internationally supported humanitarian operation to locally led action by the end of the transition period.

Recognising that only development interventions, including disaster risk reduction and management, and anticipatory action can reduce the vulnerability and risks posed by hazards and disasters that threaten the welfare of Nigerians, the government committed to promote linkages between humanitarian, development and peace efforts through more durable, efficient and effective interventions.

World Humanitarian Day is marked on August 19. On that day in 2003, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other humanitarians were killed in the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.