The Cameroonian government has handed over the second batch of additional 855 Nigerian refugees repatriated to the Borno state Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum on Wednesday.
Cameroonian officials, led by the Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, had in March 2021 repatriated and handed over the first batch of 5,000 Nigerian refugees to Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.
The handover took place at a brief ceremony in Amchiide, a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon close to Banki in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno Central.
The returnees were part of thousands of Nigerians, mostly from Borno, who, since 2014, had fled in batches to Minawao Camp located in Mokolo, far North Region of Cameroon, to escape Boko Haram’s killings.
Many Nigerians, in uncertain numbers, though said to be more than 60,000 by some accounts, fled to the camp from parts of Borno and Adamawa States. But over the years, the number came down following isolated returns.
However, on Tuesday the second batch of the refugees were handed over to Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Zulum by Cameroonian officials, led by the Governor of the Far North Region of Cameroon, Minjinyawa Bakari, at a brief farewell ceremony in Maroua on Tuesday.
Bakari, announced the closure of the repatriation totalling 1,300 Refugees while presenting farewell packages consisting of food and non-food items,
Zulum, on behalf of Nigeria, thanked the Cameroonian president, other officials and host communities for taking good care of the Nigerian refugees in the last nearly 9 years. The governor appreciated the donation made by President Biya.
The 855 Nigerian refugees residing in Minawao Camp were received by a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon, close to Banki in Bama Local Government Area by Chairman Transitional Committee, Hon Grema Terab.
Each of the refugees received N40,000 from the Federal Government as well as a 50kg bag of rice, 10kg bag of beans, 5 litres of cooking oil, a carton of seasoning, wrapper and N60,000 per households from the state government.
United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) Cameroon Office, led by Madam Kimberly visited Banki camp where she commended the resettlement efforts led by the Zulum administration.
“It was quite impressive adding that this the vision required to end the plight of refugees,” she said.