The Federal Government, in partnership with the Borno State Government, has successfully completed the return of 680 Nigerian refugees from Cameroon as part of a coordinated repatriation programme. The group arrived in Banki town in Bama Local Government Area on Thursday, marking the fourth and final phase of the current exercise.
The returnees, representing 162 households, travelled from the Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon and were welcomed by military and local officials upon crossing into Nigerian territory.
This phase concluded the latest segment of the joint initiative supported by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRM-IDP) in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
At a send-off ceremony in Cameroon, the Governor of the Far North Region, Minjinyawa Bakari, praised Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Zulum for his dedication to ensuring the safe and dignified return of the refugees. Bakari urged the returnees to “become productive citizens and rebuild their lives with dignity in their ancestral communities.”
Upon arrival at the Nigerian border, the group was received by Lt. Col. Michael Ndubisi, Commanding Officer of the 152 Task Force Battalion, the District Head of Banki, Mohammed Shehu Umar, and other officials.
At the reception centre in Banki, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, Chairman of the Repatriation Committee, cautioned against exploiting the repatriation process for financial gain. “The state government will verify its database to identify individuals who had already settled in Banki without formally cancelling their refugee status,” he said, adding that those found to be ineligible could face removal from housing allocations and livelihood support packages.
Wakilbe also acknowledged the role of Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, for the commission’s support during the exercise.
Governor Zulum has approved a comprehensive return package for the families, including ₦100,000 per household, ₦20,000 per wife, as well as mattresses and wrappers. In addition, the National Commission for Refugees provided food items such as bags of rice, beans, millet, cooking oil and assorted condiments to assist with reintegration.
So far, a total of 3,122 individuals across 557 households have been successfully repatriated to the Bama and Gwoza Local Government Areas — communities that were heavily impacted by more than a decade of Boko Haram insurgency.
