UN: Boko Haram has killed over 27,000 civilians in 10 years

Boko Haram insurgents have killed over 27,000 civilians since 2009 when the sect launched a campaign of violence.

Edward Kallon, United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, said this at the UN building in Abuja during a remembrance of 10 years of crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

The programme took place on Wednesday.

Kallon said rising insecurity in the country had pushed over 130,000 people into displacement with most of them seeking refuge at internally displaced persons camps.

Expressing condolences to the families of aid workers who had lost their lives in the north-east and other states, Kallon said their memories will continue to live on in the hearts of all humanitarian aid workers.

He said the humanitarian community will continue to do its best to assist those affected by crisis.

The sect has also killed many security operatives on the battlefront.

Efforts to put Boko Haram in check have not yielded the desired result. On Saturday, Boko Haram fighter killed over 60 mourners in Borno.

Three days later, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said the sect had been defeated but critics of the government.