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The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), yesterday disclosed that over three million Nigerians are faced with humanitarian challenges as a result of the security challenges being experienced in the country’s North-East due to the activities of Boko Haram.

Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, made the disclosure in Abuja at the 7th National Humanitarian Coordination Forum. He said the statistics were for the period of January to March 2014.

Breaking down the figures, Alhaji Sani Sidi said Borno State has the highest figure of 1,304,393 persons followed by Adamawa with 1,086,126 and Yobe 771,368 persons. He said that most of those displaced are women, children and the aged.

Represented by the Director of Administration, Dr. Zanna Muhammad, the NEMA boss said though the agency has been intervening with the provision of relief materials to the affected persons, their needs are increasing by the day, so the support of all is urgently needed.

To effectively address the needs, he said all humanitarian organisations with the intention of supporting the affected persons should liaise with NEMA as the coordinating agency to properly identify the gaps and avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts.

“To have the support of all in this regards, it is important for local and international humanitarian actors to know the scale of the problem at hand, the efforts being made by the relevant authorities and the existing gap for further support, “ the NEMA Director General stated.

Participants at the forum were drawn from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government as well as local and international non-governmental organisations, including some UN organisations.

•Photo shows frightened Nigerians relocating from their settlements as a result of Boko Haram attacks.

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