International aid agency Mercy Corps on Wednesday suspended its operations in two of the northeastern Nigerian states worst hit by insurgents after the army closed four of its offices in the region, the organisation said.
A military source and an aid worker at the organisation, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army closed the offices on Wednesday after troops said they had found 29 million naira ($94,771) in cash being transported in northeastern Borno state by a driver who said the money belonged to Mercy Corps.
It comes days after the army forced another aid agency, Action Against Hunger, to close its office in the region after accusing it of aiding terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State.
Northeast Nigeria has been blighted by a decade-long insurgency led by militant group Boko Haram that has killed 30,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes.
The United Nations has said 7.1 million people in the region need assistance in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“Mercy Corps is suspending operations in Borno and Yobe States, Nigeria, following the closure of four of our field offices by the Nigerian military,” said Amy Fairbairn, its head of media and communications, in a statement. “We have not yet received an official reason from the Nigerian authorities for the closure and we are seeking to work with them to resolve this as soon as possible,” said Fairbairn.
Borno is the birthplace of the insurgency and the state worst hit, with attacks intensifying over the last year primarily carried out by a Boko Haram splinter faction allied to Islamic State that broke away in 2016.
Yobe state has also been badly hit by the conflict.
The statement added that Mercy Corps’ work in other parts of Nigeria would continue uninterrupted.
Two Nigerian military spokesmen did not immediately respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment on the reason for the closure of Mercy Corps offices.
The closures coincide with a change in the military’s approach to the insurgency.
Nigerian soldiers have left many towns in the region under anew strategy of withdrawing to “super camps” that can be more easily defended against insurgents. Some security experts have expressed concerns that the areas vacated are being filled by insurgents, leaving civilians vulnerable.
