Action against Hunger condemns the assassination of its staff and the 4 others persons abducted

It is with profound grief that we confirm the assassination of Ishaku Yakubu, ACF staff from the Monguno base, and four others aid workers who were taken hostage by a non-state armed group in northeastern Nigeria, Borno State, on June 8, 2020, even though he was not in activity.

Action Against Hunger condemns, in the strongest terms, these assassinations and deeply regrets that our calls for their release have not been answered.

Our thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues in Nigeria.

The capture of humanitarian workers violates International Humanitarian Law, and all the rules for the protection of workers, humanitarian organizations and partners. This unjustifiable assassination reflects the immense difficulty faced by independent and impartial humanitarian actors, and the violence we are exposed to every day to fulfil our mission, as well as to promote the values ​​of humanity and solidarity that are more than ever necessary. Once again, the question arises as to the balance between concern for the safety of the teams and the maintenance of live savings activities for thousands of people.

We do not have more comments at this stage and we request that the public and journalists respect the dignity and the privacy of the victims by not sharing images or videos that may circulate on the Internet.