The about 200,000 Borno State refugees in neighbouring Niger Republic, who left their homes on the heels of Boko Haram insurgency in 2014, may be repatriated in May.
The state governor, Babagana Zulum, announced this on Tuesday, at Malam-Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area, headquarters of the Nigeria/Niger Republic border.
Zulum said he was at Malam-Fatori to see for himself the clearance process in the town, and to also offer support to the military ahead of his May 2023 target for safe and voluntary return of refugees from the neighbouring Francophone country to their ancestral community.
“We want the people to return next month (May) for normal activities to return to this part of the state, insha’Allah. We will give all the necessary support to the Nigerian military to make sure that this objective is achieved, insha’Allah.
“We call on our people to be resilient and give maximum cooperation to the security operatives working to restore normalcy,” the governor said.
Zulum, who interacted with the Commanding Officer of 68 Battalion, Malam-Fatori, Col. A. Onyeukwu, was accompanied by the elected member of the House of Representatives for Marte, Monguno and Nganzai districts, Bukar Talba; Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele; and some prominent indigenes of Abadam.
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