By Stella Odueme
ABUJA
Nigeria's main emergency body said that up to 981,416 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been recorded since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
"About 981,416 IDPs have been recorded, while about 9.6 million people have been directly or indirectly affected by the insurgency," Muhammed Sidi-Sani, director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told reporters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He dismissed as "baseless" claims that over three million people have been displaced across Nigeria's northeastern region.
"I'm very happy about this meeting because this is the kind of platform we need especially when the media, international media and agencies quote different figures and making pronouncements that have no basis," he said.
"We are concerned and we need to put the record straight. Daily registration and assessment is ongoing under the coordination of NEMA and offices across the country. Vertical and horizontal coordination is ongoing and of course there are gaps."
Sani-Siding, who was speaking when a delegation of the USAID visited the NEMA headquarters, said the agency is surprised at the figure of three million IDPs allegedly being circulated by the non-profit group Internal Displacement Management Centre (IDMC).
"We will challenge the figure because we wonder where and what method IDMC employed at arriving at such figure," he added.
According to NEMA, about 276 schools were equally affected by the insurgency while over nine million people have been affected directly or indirectly.
Sidi-Sani, who identified the humanitarian issue as the most challenging, also noted that another difficult task was dealing with IDPs who reside outside the camps.
He thanked the USAID and other agencies for their "support and solidarity in helping Nigeria this trying period."
Earlier, head of the USAID delegation and Regional Director for West Africa Michael Harvey said that the delegation was visiting Nigeria to assess the situation of the IDPs and partner with the country on issues relating to IDPs.
Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been killed since Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009 following the extrajudicial murder of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, while in police custody.
The group has also been blamed for the destruction of public infrastructure, private businesses and the displacement of at least six million Nigerians
