The Federal Government has stated plans to bring back 20,000 Nigerians who are stranded in Chad and Cameroon.
The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugee, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Tijani Ahmed, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja.
He noted that 6,000 people will be brought from Chad, while 14,000 will be brought from Cameroon in the next two months.
As of December 31, 2023, 21,380 Nigerian refugees are in Chad, and 120,677 are in Cameroon.
In 2023, 5,000 Nigerian refugees were voluntarily repatriated from Cameroon to Banki in Borno state by the federal government.
The government procured food and non-food items worth N2 billion in 2023 as a return package for the refugees. Most of the refugees were displaced by the 2022 flood, the Boko Haram crisis, the farmer-herders clash, and the current climate change challenge.
Ahmed said, “In the year 2023, the commission spearheaded the repatriation of 5,000 people living in Cameroon to the country.
“We are also arranging to bring back those who are interested in returning because repatriation is voluntary and an agreement has been signed between UNHCR, the government of Cameroon and the federal government of Nigeria in the area of repatriation of our people from Cameroon.
“We are going to work towards the repatriation of 6,000 Nigerians out of about 21,000 of them in Chad.
“We are looking at returning 3000 households from Chad, which is about 6,000 people would be repatriated from Chad to Nigeria. For Cameroon, we have about 14,000 people but we will profile them because we don’t have to force anybody to return. Arrangements are underway to get them back. Within the next two months, we should have concluded the arrangement on repatriation.”
Speaking on the cost implication of the proposed repatriation, he said, “We are yet to determine the cost implication for the repatriation of our people from Chad and Cameroon but already, a committee has been set up to look into that. By the time we get the total bill, the government of the Federation will intervene. Also, the Borno State government and the NCFRMI will work to ensure their smooth repatriation.
“Don’t be deterred about the financial implications. I want to tell you that the government of Nigeria will do everything humanly possible to ensure that money is being provided. They have done that before and I’m sure they’ll continue to do that. Don’t forget that in 2022 about 5000 Nigerians were repatriated from Cameroon. It was the responsibility of the government and they did that.
“In 2002, we had a very serious flood that made some Nigerians leave the country, some left for Chad, Cameroon and other places. The Boko Haram crisis, farmers-herders clashes, and climate change were contributory factors to the displacement.
“No matter the number of the refugees, the government will do everything humanly possible to return those of them that want to return.
On what would be given to the refugees, Ahmed said, “Rehabilitation is ongoing in Banki, and construction of houses is ongoing in Baga by the Borno State government.
“We are arranging with the Borno state government to ensure that they are taken to skill acquisition centres. They will be trained and given start-up packs because the government cannot continue to fend for them for life and that is why we are giving them a durable solution which includes shelter and start-up packs.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, Deputy Representative, Protection, Bernadette Muteshi, lauded the federal government for taking the lead in the repatriation exercise.
She said, “We are happy to see the government leadership in this endeavour. We are happy to note that the voices of Nigerians who want to return have been heard and acted upon.
“We will try to ensure that this process happens as soon as practically feasible by putting all elements together and we hope to support a credible process.
“We want to ensure that the basic human rights of these people are observed and upheld and we hope that all arrangements can be in place to meet the aspirations of people that we care for”.
