TheCable

The United Nations (UN) says Boko Haram crisis has struggled to attract donor funds, but that the UK will assist with more funds.

According to Bloomberg, Matthew Rycroft, president of the UN Security Council, who made the promise, did not specify how much.

Rycroft reportedly said since the sect launched its campaign of violence, the north-east region has suffered damages estimated at $9bn.

He put the losses suffered by Borno state alone at $6.2bn.

Rycroft said the global body was stepping up support to the region as many who fled Boko Haram violence were now facing a humanitarian crisis even as attacks on their communities abate.

“The number of displaced is shocking, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is alarming. It is like suffering twice,” he said.

Rycroft is also British permanent secretary to the UN.

Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, told journalists on Sunday that Nigeria had spent $4bn on the region, without giving further details.

In February, Norway pledged $189.7m over three years to Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad basin that hass been affected by the violence.

Boko Haram has waged an eight-year campaign, capturing towns and razing villages in a bid to impose its version of Islamic law on Nigeria.