By Chris Ewokor
Soldiers stand beside truck to close offices of humanitarian group, Action Against Hunger (ACF) in the restive Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, on September 19, 2019.
The Nigerian government says it has temporarily lifted the ban on two international charities – Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps that had been in place since September.
The humanitarian organisations have now been allowed to resume operations. They were accused of aiding Boko Haram fighters in the north.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq made the announcement in Abuja.
There were rising concerns about the growing humanitarian crisis in the north-east, with the NGO Médécins Sans Frontières estimating that 85% of Borno state was inaccessible.
Now the government says it will start re-registering humanitarian agencies operating in the region.
The two organisations are among a number of NGOs that provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations, at risk from the deadly Islamist insurgency.
Action Against Hunger had said it would support any investigation and strongly rejected the accusation of aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation.
Source: BBC Africa, Abuja
