The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced
Persons (NCFRMI) have commenced talks with the Borno State Government to
bring back indigenes of the state from neighboring countries.
The Honourable Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Senator Basheer Garba
Mohammed stated this in an exclusive interview with select journalists
shortly after a meeting with a delegation of Borno State Govt led by His
Excellency, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum at the Commission’s office in
Abuja, Thursday.
According to him, the commission in collaboration with its development
partners like United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) is
geared towards creating a lasting solution to the returning refugees of
Borno State and any other state in the federation.
“The Commission will do everything possible to bring back the indigenes
of Borno State from our neighboring countries in accordance with
International Humanitarian Law as we seek to put everything in place for
an easy reintegration and rehabilitation back to safer communities for
them”, Senator Mohammed added.
“Nigeria has the second-largest number of displaced persons in Africa
and Borno State with a figure of 1.8 million displaced persons is the
biggest in the country. Therefore, this means a lot to the government to
bring back home the concerned persons to a life of dignity and
prosperity”, the Federal Commissioner further stated.
“This is part of our focal project this year; the resettlement city,
which is geared towards moving away from being just food providers to
the refugees and displaced persons to finding sustainable solutions to
their problems by transiting them into full and dignified settlements”,
he concluded.
On his part, the visiting Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara
Zulum said, the reach out from the Borno State indigenes is positive and
beneficial as the refugees themselves want nothing more than to come
back to Nigeria as they have shown that there is no place like home for
them.
The Borno State Governor then commiserated with the Commission on World
Refugee Day and commended the Commissioner for his hard work and
progressive efforts in making life much better for refugees and
displaced persons in Nigeria.