The Victims Support Fund on Wednesday presented N40 million to two hospitals in Maidugiri for the treatment of Boko Haram attack victims.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries were the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri.

Executive Chairman of the Fund, Prof. Sunday Ochoche, said that seven hospitals in the North East were shortlisted to receive the support.

He said that the gesture was to assist the hospitals provide quality care to the numerous victims of insurgency in their care.

The executive chairman said that the money was expected to be used in providing treatment for gun shot and bomb blast victims as well as those undergoing trauma rehabilitation.

Ochoche acknowledged that the amount was “insignificant considering the magnitude of daily attacks” on individuals by the insurgents, but declared that it was “just the beginning of a partnership.”

He pledged that the fund would continue to support the hospitals within the scope of its resources, adding that other states affected by the insurgency would also be assisted in due course.

At the UMTH, its Chief Medical Director, Prof. Abdulrahman Tahir, thanked the Fund for the gesture and promised judicious utilization of the money.

He said that the support had come in on time as the hospital was running out of fund.

“We have spent over N150 million in the treatment of victims of insurgency from 2010 till date; we are running out of fund.

“We were lucky that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) provided a N30 million support last month.”

The chief medical director also said that the Borno Government had provided support to the hospital for the care of insurgency victims. (NAN)

•Photo shows Gov. Shettima