By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

A civil liberty advocacy group, the International Association for Advancement and Defence of Human Rights, IAADHR, has called on the federal government to increase the funding of the military to enable it adequately deal with the insurgency ravaging the North east.

The group said if the military is adequately funded it would enhance the troops capacity to combat the insurgency and also boost their morale.

Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday, leader of the group, Babatunde Johnson, said that the federal government needs to better equip and increase logistical support to the troops to further step up of the momentum of the war against terror in the region.

“We call on the federal government to increase funding and logistical support to the military and other security agencies towards boosting their morale in the anti terrorism war,” Johnson said.

While commending the government for stepping up the campaign against Boko Haram insurgents, Johnson said it must sustain the current regional and international collaboration aimed at quickly ending the crisis.

“We call on all Nigerians to consciously cooperate and collaborate with security agencies in intelligence sharing towards ensuring the success of the counter terrorism war,” he stated.

He lamented that the insurgency had led to the displacement of about 1.5 million persons from their homes in the affected states, noting that “increasing IDPs camps are springing up with consequent challenges especially in Borno” and that “Boko Haram insurgency has led to massive fracture of the society.”

Johnson urged the federal government to do more in catering to the needs of IDPs, observing that they were facing the hardship of daily living in addition to being uprooted from their homes.

“We must not abandon the fate of those in IDPs camps to their helplessness because to do so is to provide a fertile breeding ground for future terrorists and suicide bombers,” he observed.

“It is also a clear violation of their human rights and dignity as international rules and convention of protocols guiding the displaced persons,” Johnson further opined..

He noted also that the insurgency had also resulted in destruction of schools, hospitals and other government facilities.