Nigeria suspends UNICEF work, alleges ‘clandestine’ activity
Posted Dec 14, 2018 10:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s military says it has suspended the activities of UNICEF in the extremist-threatened northeast, accusing the U.N. agency of “training selected persons for clandestine activities.”
The statement Friday said UNICEF’s activities are on hold until further notice because it has “abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable.”
Military spokesman Onyema Nwachukwu alleged that UNICEF carried out the training this week in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital and birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist group.
The spokesman accused UNICEF of harming Nigeria’s counterterror efforts via “spurious and unconfirmed allegations” of human rights abuses by the military.
A UNICEF official says the agency is trying to verify the military’s action. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Sam Olukoya, The Associated Press
