Nigerians displaced from the North-East and currently in Cameroon would be coming home soon as the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Returns and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the North-East has ordered the immediate resumption of their repatriation.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is chairman of the committee, gave the directive on Friday during a meeting of the committee where the report of the technical working group (TWG) on repatriation of Nigerians displaced from the North-East was presented by Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, who is also the vice-chairman of the committee.
Prior to the inauguration of the presidential committee, the National Commission For Refugees, Migrants, and IDPs (NCFRMI) in collaboration with other agencies had repatriated over 4000 displaced Nigerians from Cameroon before halting the exercise.
The committee reported that over 200,000 Nigerian refugees were still scattered in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon who are due for repatriation to their homes in Nigeria.
Osinbajo directed that while the presidential committee reviewed the report of the TWG, the refugee’s commission should without further delay resume the repatriation of displaced Nigerians from the Republic of Cameroon.
He noted that the repatriation and resettlement of the displaced Nigerians living in Cameroon and other neighbouring countries as a result of the insurgency in the North-East remains a priority, hence the refugee’s commission and other relevant agencies must ensure that the objective was achieved.
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Governor Zulum of Borno State, who presented the report of the technical working group at the meeting, urged the authorities to expedite the repatriation exercise, adding that “within the last few years, we have repatriated no fewer than 50,000 people but we still have more than 200,000.’’
He looked forward to the presidential approval to facilitate funding and other logistics required for the re-establishment of the affected communities in Borno State, noting that “the security situation has greatly improved.”
President Muhammadu Buhari, had in February, inaugurated the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Returns and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the North-East, designating the Osinbajo as the chair.
