38 LGs contaminated with explosives in North-East – FG

About 38 Local Government Areas in the North-East, comprising Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are contaminated with Explosive Ordnances due to the activities of insurgents in the region, the Federal Government has said.

It disclosed this in its latest report on Pillars of Mine Action put together by the Humanitarian Mine Action Committee of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The report, which was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, said the Federal Government, through the humanitarian mine action, identified explosive ordnance risks as one of the challenges inhibiting the return and prolonged displacements of citizens in the affected states.

It said the government had “identified 38 targeted Local Government Areas as directly affected by violent destructions and are contaminated by various types of EOs, while many of the communities reclaimed from insurgents through the successful advancement of the Nigeria military have been identified as booby-trapped with land mines and unexploded bombs.”

The Coordinator, Humanitarian Mine Action Committee, Group Capt. Sadeeq Shehu, stated that the threat posed by EOs had been documented in several national and international documents.

He explained that insecurity in the North-East remained a big challenge as it had limited access to arable land for agricultural production.

“As both the federal and state governments try to encourage return of IDPs and refugees in the North-East, many areas remain contaminated with various types of Explosive Ordnances,” he stated.

Shehu added, “The presence of EOs prevents safe access to agricultural land essential for food security, restricts freedom of movement that is critical for protection, and hinders early recovery of unexploded ordnance.

“This will require mine risk/demining services to ensure safe access to farmland for agricultural activities.”

The report stated that as both the Federal Government and the governments of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states commence the process of returning, resettlement, reintegrating and rehabilitating internally displaced persons and refugees to long-abandoned settlements, one inevitable potential danger in conflict areas was the threat of different kinds of explosive ordnances.

“EOs which include unexploded ordnances, abandoned ordnances, explosive remnants of war and Improvised Explosive Devices remain a big challenge.

“According to the United Nation Mine Action Service, since 2016, 755 civilians have been killed and 1,321 injured by explosive ordnance, an average rate of more than one civilian every day.

“Most recently, on July 25 2022, eight people were killed by EOs in Bama Local Government Area as they were scavenging for scrap metal,” it stated.