The Nigerian government has ordered the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), a non-governmental organisation that supports humanitarian services, to close down its services and exit immediately.
INSO Country Director Nigeria, Zeljko (Jack) Toncic, who confirmed the development, however added that his organisation is hoping to engage with the Nigerian authorities in order to provide a space for dialogue.
Toncic’s statement to the staff reads: “Dear colleagues. Today, INSO received a formal request from Nigerian authorities to suspend its humanitarian activities in the country. In strict compliance with this decision, INSO is immediately suspending all of its services to humanitarian partners in Nigeria.
“Present in Nigeria since 2016, INSO has supported over 110 humanitarian organisations, contributing to the safe delivery of humanitarian aid across the country. INSO’s global activities are grounded in a strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
“As a humanitarian NGO, we maintain complete independence from any political objectives and operate with full transparency toward relevant authorities, with the aim of ensuring continued service delivery to our partners.
“INSO is willing to engage with Nigerian authorities to clarify our mandate and we sincerely hope that a space for dialogue may help this situation, for the benefit of the humanitarian NGOs we support and the civilian populations you serve.”
Founded in 2011, the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) is an international non-governmental organisation that supports humanitarian aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts.
INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services, including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety-related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations and training.
INSO provides daily support to more than 1000 NGOs operating in 16 of the world’s most insecure countries.
