The United Nations said on Tuesday that the latest wave of Boko Haram’s “vicious, ruthless attacks” in the north-eastern part of the country had sent 11,320 people fleeing into Chad in a matter of days. The Islamist group stormed the town of Baga on January 3, and subsequently razed it alongside at least 16 surrounding settlements.

While it has been impossible for aid workers to enter the area to verify accounts of the slaughter and of corpses decaying in the streets, the attack is feared to have been the worst massacre since Boko Haram’s deadly insurgency began in 2009.

Some 20,000 people are alleged to have fled their homes in the area since the attack, and the UN refugee agency said that around 11,320 people had arrived in neighbouring Chad alone.  A full 60 per cent of the new arrivals in Chad were women and girls, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman, William Spindler, told journalists, adding that 84 unaccompanied children had also crossed over.

Another 2,000 people had become stranded on an island in Lake Chad during their desperate escape, he said, adding that UNHCR was working to transport them to the mainland.  “We deeply deplore the vicious, ruthless attacks against civilians in Baga,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights agency, told reporters in Geneva.

While the details of the attacks remained sketchy, she said it appeared “fairly certain… that mass killings and mass forced displacement have occurred. The deliberate targeting of civilians is clearly prohibited by international law and we are very concerned at reports that there were children and elderly people among the victims,” Shamdasani added.

She voiced concern over Saturday’s attack at a crowded market in Maiduguri, also in Borno State, that killed 19 people and was apparently carried out by a 10-year-old girl. “The use of a child to detonate a bomb is not only morally repugnant, but constitutes an egregious form of child exploitation under international law,” she said, urging the Nigerian government to “act swiftly to restore law and order.”

Meanwhile, the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum (NGWF) yesterday said that as mothers, they are finding it difficult to have a sound sleep since the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, especially the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls about nine months ago.

The governors’ wives, who were led by the Forum’s Chairperson, Mrs. Dooshima Yemisi Suswam, were in Maiduguri to make donations of relief materials to victims of insurgency in Borno State as part of their N40 million assistance to victims of disaster in the North.

The wife of the Benue State governor, who led the six other members of the forum, which included Hajiya Halima Wada (Kogi), Salamatu Almakura (Nasarawa), Hanatu Ngillari (Adamawa), Jamila Sanni (Taraba), Fatima Yero (Kaduna) and Jummai Babangida (Niger) to Maiduguri, said the forum gave their widow’s mite to the affected people.

She asked them not to look at the quantum of the assistance but the heart as they feel their pains.

In her speech at the occasion, she said the donation was the forum’s way of reaching out to victims of the insurgency in the state. “Northern Governors’ Wives have not been able to sleep well and so we inquired how we may reach and thought it wise to support the effort of your government and well-meaning individuals and organisations to supply our widow’s mite. Silver and gold we have none, but that which we have as mothers is food,” she said.

According to her, the donation was from the proceeds of the launch of the forum’s almanac initiatives, adding that four states including Borno was selected as pilot states.

The chairperson called on parents not to allow the abduction of the Chibok girls to discourage them from enrolling their children in schools.

“To those who may think of the Chibok girls and further shy away from sending their female child/ward to school, please don’t be discouraged, education is still the best empowerment.

“The story of the Chibok girls, a major disaster, is still fresh and ever since then we have not stopped to pray for them, the families, government and the federal government, we shall sustain our prayers as mothers until we get a breakthrough,” Mrs. Suswan added.

Also speaking at the occasion, wife of the Borno State Governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima, called on the federal government to intensify efforts in rescuing the Chibok girls and other people abducted by Boko Haram.

Earlier, while on a courtesy call on Governor Kashim Shettima, the forum chairperson said the purpose of their visit was to commiserate with the state government and the entire people of the North-east over the numerous lives that have been lost.

“We are here to encourage you and to let you know that you are not alone. This struggle and unwanted occurrences in the land takes serious efforts, do not take offence from any quarters, ignore some of their personal disappointments, consider it sacrifices for responsive leadership,” she added.

Responding, Governor Shettima expressed appreciation to the governors’ wives for the donation, adding that he was touched by the gesture.

He said to those that think Nigeria could break, “I am optimistic that it will outlive us.”