1M Nigerian children separated from parents: President

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - At least 1 million Nigerian children have been forcefully separated from their parents as a result of Boko Haram violence, President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday.

"We have at least a million children who neither know their parents nor where they come from,” Buhari said in a meeting with visiting United Nations General Assembly President Maria Garces in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Buhari said the insurgency in the region has triggered a humanitarian crisis and the collapse of public infrastructure which he sought international support to rebuild.

The president said half of the 30 million people affected by the drying up of Lake Chad are in Nigeria, seeking global support to revitalize the Lake.

“Bridges have been blown up. Schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and other buildings have been destroyed. All these will be rehabilitated, and every form of international help is welcome," he said. "The condition of internally displaced persons in the country is pathetic."

Garces is on a one-day working visit to Nigeria.

She said Nigeria has been a major supporter of the UN and pledged to raise global support for the “disturbing effects” of climate change on the Lake Chad region.

She also praised Nigeria's roles in peacekeeping operation and rising its commitment to human rights advocacy.