By Bashir Aliyu
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has strongly condemned Israel for its continued bombardments of the Gaza Strip, describing the development as an “affront on humanity.”
In statement signed by the minister, Honorable Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said that the civilian casualties in the Rafah refugee camp, bombing of humanitarian workers delivering aid to Gaza, bombing of Al-Shifa Hospital in early April as well as the bombings of schools where large concentration of civilians gathered to take shelter from the fighting must be denounced.
“The government and people of Nigeria condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the onslaught on defenseless civilians currently being witnessed in Gaza in the course of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The latest deadly attacks on the Rafah Displacement Camps in Southern Gaza on Sunday the 26th, which killed about 45 people, mostly women and children, represents an unfortunate addition to the list of strikes on soft civilian targets with devastating effects which have now characterized the crisis. As it stands, the Rafah attacks, just like the bombing of the Al Shifa Hospital in early April, the serial bombing of schools, particularly in Khan Younis, the March 2024 bombing of the Firas Market and the Nuseirat Refugee Camp Market; the drone attacks on the World Central Kitchen aid staff in April, indicates a most regrettable affront on humanity, which must be denounced in its entirety.” the statement said.
Honorable Tuggar also said that Nigeria is deeply concerned about the dire situation in Gaza, and failure of the ceasefire agreement and sabotage operations being carried out by Israeli hardliners who often intercept trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Nigeria is, therefore, as grossly concerned about the safety and welfare of the civilian population of Gaza as it is about the protection of the dignity and sacredness of human life in the enclave. It deplores the already mature humanitarian catastrophe that has developed out of this regrettable situation. Nigeria is greatly dismayed at the flagrant disregard of ceasefire agreements, the violation of humanitarian corridors, and the deliberate sabotaging of aid and relief efforts.” He added.
“Nigeria, therefore, strongly maintains the stance that the fundamental human rights, including and especially that to life, of the vulnerable civilian population of Gaza must be preserved at all cost. We call on all stakeholders—including the warring parties (Israel and Palestine), the United Nations, especially its Security Council, the European Union, human rights groups, civil society organisations, world leaders and the international community—to intensify efforts towards a speedy resolution of the conflict, and the immediate cessation of the attendant carnage on the defenseless people, not just of Gaza, but on both sides of the divide. No lesser alternative will be acceptable.”
The minister has reiterated Nigeria’s stance regarding the two-state solution, saying this is the most realistic way to achieve peace in the Middle East.
“While we consider an intervention on behalf of the people of Gaza as a far-reaching contribution to preservation humanity and its values, we also reaffirm our position regarding the two-state solution as vital to the amelioration of the prevailing situation.”
