The Federal Government will soon commence the process of evacuating displaced Nigerians taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic, according to the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Alhaji Ahmed Tijjani.
Tijjani, who disclosed this on Thursday in Maiduguri after a meeting with Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, said the government had also agreed to close the remaining Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri and return the displaced persons to their ancestral homes within the shortest possible time, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Thousands of Nigerians affected by the Boko Haram insurgency had fled to the neighbouring countries at the peak of the crisis.
“We discussed the evacuation of refugees from Cameroon, Niger and Chad. It was agreed that a tripartite meeting will hold,” Tijjani said.
“The commission will sit and come out with the process and procedure to apply in evacuating our people.
“Registration of refugees for the voluntary evacuation is ongoing in collaboration with UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR),” he said.
He lauded the Borno State government for its commitment to the welfare of the people and assured of the Commission’s support at all times.
Tijjani said the Commission had already established a resettlement city in Amarwa village in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno for the returnees with provisions for schools, clinics, markets, police outpost and skill acquisition centre among others.
The federal commissioner, who was in Borno for a three-day visit, also presented relief materials to 500 displaced persons affected by fire disaster in Muna IDP camp in Maiduguri, and visited the Maiduguri sub office of the UNHCR.
