Nigeria Condemns Israel’s Attack on Gaza, Insists Rights of Civilians Must be Preserved

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Nigerian government has condemned the ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza, insisting that the fundamental human rights, including and especially right to life, of the vulnerable civilian population must be preserved at all cost.

Nigeria, in a statement signed by her Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said: “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.”

The government added that: “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, indicate a most regrettable affront on humanity, which must be denounced in its entirety.

“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.

“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.”

Tuggar said: “While we consider an intervention on behalf of the people of Gaza as a far-reaching contribution to preservation of humanity and its values, we also reaffirm our position regarding the two-state solution as vital to the amelioration of the prevailing situation.”