“We are under attack in Rann. They are shooting everywhere please pray for me; please go and tell my parents that I am in trouble.
“Please, look for Fatima and tell her they are taking us away. They have entered here now…”
These are the words of a young lady in anguish as she was being taken away by the terrorists group, Boko Haram.
Her name is Hauwa Leman, 24 years old and one of the United Nations aid workers taken away by the terrorists group when they struck at Rann area of Borno State on Thursday.
She is a midwife and studies Health Education at the University of Maiduguri.
She hurriedly passed the voice message through Whatsapp to her friend, Abdulhameed Algarzali, who is the Editor-In-Chief of Yerwa Express News, a local newspaper published in Maiduguri.
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United Nations aid workers were killed on Thursday while two aid workers (midwives) one of whom is Hauwa Leman, were abducted by the terrorists.
Following the attack, United Nations has withdrawn its services.
The withdrawal is contained in a statement by the spokesman of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric.
The UN confirmed that no fewer than eight security personnel were killed by the insurgents.
Similarly, Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders announced the suspension of its activities in some areas of Borno State as a result of the attack.
Said Dujarric in the statement: “The Secretary-General condemns the killing of three aid workers last night in Rann town in Borno State, Nigeria, following an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents. At least one other aid worker remains critically injured and another three are still missing. Eight members of the Nigerian national security forces were also killed.
“At the time of the attack, over 40 humanitarian workers were in Rann. All humanitarian personnel have been evacuated from Rann, and all humanitarian deliveries in the area have been temporarily suspended.
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the affected aid workers, their families and to the Government and people of Nigeria. He wishes those injured a swift recovery. The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. Those responsible for these and other atrocities in Nigeria must be apprehended and prosecuted.
“The Secretary-General calls on all the parties to ensure at all times the protection of all civilians in Nigeria.”
Also, in a statement by MSF”s Field Communication officer in Abuja, Maro Verli, the organisation has withdrawn its services from areas considered to be volatile.
“Following the violent attack in Rann, Borno State, on Thursday 1 March, Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) decided to suspend its medical activities in the town.
“MSF team has been providing medical care to the 40,000 people in Rann, since January 2017. Mobile teams delivered assistance on a regular basis, and a permanent medical team has been based in Rann since September 2017,” said the group.
UN aid workers, all Nigerians, were killed in a night attack by Boko Haram insurgents at Rann community in Kala Balge Local Government of Borno on Thursday.
The insurgents attacked the town at about 7 p.m.
The insurgents, it was gathered, moved in gun trucks and motorcycles and attacked a military base and a displaced persons’ camp.
