The United Nations has urged the Federal government to ensure that the areas recaptured from the Boko Haram sect are truly safe for displaced persons who want to return home.

UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Professor Beyani Chaloka, says the government must also put together, a policy to help Internally Displaced Persons.

He stated this at a meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on IDPs and Northeast Initiative in Abuja.

Following the rising number of people displaced in the North-east, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has sought local and international humanitarian support to ease the burden.

According to NEMA, over 2.2 million Nigerians are currently living in formal camps, host communities and satellite camps in liberated communities as a result of insurgency in North Eastern States of Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa states.

NEMA Director General, Sani Sidi has said aside from the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in Northeastern Nigeria other crisis in the country had left millions of Nigerians Internally Displaced.

The Federal Government had put together several interventions to address the alarming plight of the IDPs in Nigeria, but the situation has been worsened by the diversion of food and relief materials provided by government for IDPs.

The situation had prompted Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to call for a probe.

On August 19, the United Nations warned that Nigeria’s economic slowdown, compounded by Boko Haram attacks could mean 5.5 million people are in need of food aid in the northeast region by September.

The U.N. refugee agency says the success of the Nigerian military against the militants has exposed disastrous levels of suffering and a vast regional crisis.

It further expressed concern that many of the persons affected by terrorist attack had been out of reach of humanitarian help for months or years. (tv360nigeria.com)

•Photo shows IDPs Camp