‎Danjuma heads terror victims support committee

‎Former chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), is the chairman of the Committee on Victims Support Fund to compensate victims of Boko Haram and other terror groups in the country.

The committee will be inaugurated on Wednesday at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Secretary to the government of the federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the committee “is to mobilise resources and administer appropriate support to victims of insurgency and Boko Haram terror activities all over the country” ─ in a statement released on Monday.

Former vice-presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Fola Adeola, will serve as the vice chairman of the committee which also has Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, Mr. Cosmas Maduka and Mr. Jim Ovia as members.

Other members are Alh. Mohammed Indimi, Alh. Abdulsamad I. Rabiu, Alh. Sani Dauda, Mr. Wale Tinubu, Alh. Sani Sidi, DG, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Air Vice Marshal Tony Omenyi (representing defence headquarters).

Others are CP Salisu Fagge, representing Nigerian Police Force, Mr. Sayana Yusuf, representing Department of State Services, Chief Uche Secondus, PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Alh. Tijani Tunsah, APC Deputy National Chairman (North), representative of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), representative of Jamaatul Nasril Islam (JNI) ‎and Mrs. Nkechi Mba, representing National Council of Women Societies.

Also in the committee are: Prof. Ben Angwe, executive secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), representative of the United Nations (UN), representative of Department for International Development (DFID), representative of Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID), representative of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Alh. Balarabe Musa, representing Conference of  Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), and two representatives of local civil society/youth groups (a male and a female).

The office of the secretary to the government of the federation will service as the secretariat.

The terms of reference are:

• to identify sources and ways of raising sustainable funding to support victims of Boko Haram terror activities
• to develop appropriate strategies for the fund raising
• to ascertain the persons, communities, facilities and economic assets affected by Boko Haram terror activities
• to assess and determine the appropriate support required in each case; To manage, disburse or administer support to the victims as appropriate
• to address related challenges as may be appropriate
• and to advise Government on other matter(s) necessary or incidental to support victims of Boko Haram terror activities.