Over 1 mn people internally displaced in Nigeria in 3 months

Over one million people, mostly children, have been internally displaced in Nigeria's five states in three months due to brutal attacks by Boko Haram militants in the northeastern part of the country, the UN said today.
The figure does not include the number of people displaced in January after the new wave of brutal attacks by the militants in the country.
In the January assault, a 10-year-old girl was used as a human bomb for the killings at the marketplace in Maidugiri.
Of the total internally displaced population (IDP), 58 per cent are children of which more than half are up to five years old while 42 per cent are adults.

The highest number of the displaced are from Yobe (3,89, 281) followed by Adamawe (1,23,601) and Taraba (81,790).
Both in Borno and Adamawa, the displaced people come from local government areas (LGAs) under Boko Haram control.

As many as 92.3 per cent of IDPs live with host families and the rest in camps or "camp-like sites", according to the International Organisation of Migration.
Apart from internal displacement, an estimated 1,53,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
The Boko Haram are insurgents, who are brutally targeting civilians for the last five years, to establish an Islamic caliphate in the north-eastern region of Nigeria.

The Jonathan Goodluck administration has drawn flak for its mishandling of the situation.
The army on the other hand does not have enough ammunition to handle the insurgents who are much better equipped than them.
Presidential elections that are due next month will be a serious challenge especially in insurgent-held territories.