Humanitarian worker from Médecins du Monde killed on 17 November in the town of Damboa, located in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria.
Human resources coordinator for Médecins du Monde – France in Nigeria, our colleague was attacked by a Nigerian soldier last Thursday. The exact circumstances of this murder remain to be determined.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague, murdered while she was working to provide aid to populations in the northeast of the country; our thoughts are with her family,” states Jiten Asem, Head of Mission for MdM France in Nigeria.
Dr Florence Rigal, President of MdM France, declares: “Médecins du Monde is in mourning. We strongly condemn this attack. It is essential that humanitarian and health workers be able to provide vital assistance to populations without being attacked themselves.”
The tragic incident affecting MdM once again illustrates how much the humanitarian space in which NGOs operate is marked by very strong constraints. This space is shrinking year by year, forcing us to work in conditions that endanger our teams, who are nonetheless more determined and present than ever alongside people living in crisis situations.
“We demand full transparency from the Nigerian military and civilian authorities and rely on their full collaboration to ensure that the full truth about this tragedy is revealed. Our colleague’s family, her colleagues in Nigeria and around the world, and the entire international humanitarian community have the right to know what drove the perpetrator to commit this crime,” emphasizes the President of MdM France.
Regardless of the facts, we remind all parties to a conflict that they must guarantee the safety of personnel providing vital assistance to civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law. In particular, we call on the Nigerian army and the Government of Nigeria to take full responsibility for this tragedy and to ensure that it does not happen again.
FOR MEDIA REQUESTS, PLEASE CONTACT MÉLISSA CABANA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MOBILIZATION
Mobile: 514-799-8985
melissa.cabana@medecinsdumonde.ca