The failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to sign a $4 million intervention fund to clean up lead contamination in communities in northern Nigeria exposed to lead poisoning due to small scale and artisanal mining has contributed to the death of several hundreds of children and the maiming of thousands others, the Human Rights Watch has said.
A statement by the global human rights watchdog said, in 2012, Mr. Jonathan delayed for months to authorise the release of the fund that was meant for cleaning up the communities and saving the lives of hundreds of children that are most vulnerable to lead exposure despite assurances that he was committed to solving the problem.
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