The United Nations and the European Union have raised serious concerns about the humanitarian situation in the North East.

According to both international bodies, the situation is not improving at all as thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who have earlier returned to their ancestral homes, are going back to the camps over fears of insurgent attacks.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, and EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, stated this at a joint press conference on Friday in Abuja.

Kallon insisted that there has been a steady rise in the number of illegal checkpoints by armed groups and the killing of aid workers in the country.

Lenarcic, who spoke on behalf of the EU during his visit to Nigeria, asked the Federal Government to seek political solutions to the crisis in the North East.

He was also worried about the deplorable humanitarian situation and attacks on aid workers in the region.

The EU commissioner noted that although efforts have been made to battle the insurgents for almost a decade, it was time to strengthen regional collaboration and seek political solutions to end the crisis.

The press briefing was also attended by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, and others.

Nigeria’s north-east region has grappled with insurgency since 2009, as tens of thousands of people have been killed with many others displaced and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the EU, there are currently at least 1.8 million displaced persons from the three most-affected states – Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.

A total of 2.9 million others are said to be facing serious food crisis in the region, while 1.2 million including women and children are cut off from humanitarian assistance.