46, 000 Refugees return from Cameroon, Chad and Niger

46, 000 people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency have returned to Borno. These IDPs had fled to Cameroun, Chad and Niger Republic at the peak of the insurgency. This was disclosed by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, while distributing relief materials to displaced persons in Banki, Bama Local Government Area of Borno. Maihaja said that thousands of Nigerians who fled their homes in Banki in the wake of insurgents attacks had returned, following the success recorded in the counter-insurgency campaign.

He also said that NEMA was responding promptly to the immediate needs of the returnees and had distributed food items, mattresses, clothing materials and treated mosquito nets. The agency also provides 8.4 kg of food items every month per household.

Maihaja also said the agency had adopted effective modalities to provide schools and clinics in the camps, to enable the affected children return to school, enhance hygiene and healthcare service delivery.

As part of its broader humanitarian emergency response, the Federal Government has begun the distribution of 40, 905 tonnes of assorted food items to displaced persons in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Taraba and Yobe States. NEMA has initiated a comprehensive tracking system to monitor vehicular movement and distribution of relief materials to guard against diversion. Maihaja added that the agency has also embarked on the enumeration of IDPs and a door-to-door distribution exercise to ensure that the affected families get the relief materials.