Borno villages, hamlets may be merged to facilitate resettlement, security

Villages and hamlets in Boko Haram-ravaged Borno State are to be merged to facilitate their reconstruction as adequately secure communities for the resettlement of IDP returnees.

Small villages and hamlets are currently the most vulnerable targets of attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents in Northern, Central and Southern parts of the state in a fluctuating resurgence of terror activities.

The merger and reconstruction of such locations of rural Borno dwellings are to be undertaken under a project called the Creation of Neighbourhood Communities as Secure Settlements.

The state’s Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement disclosed this while speaking at the end of a 3-day workshop organised for journalists covering the violent conflict-ridden North-East by the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI) in Maiduguri.

Sale, said a number of villages and hamlets sharing a given neighbourhood would be merged to build a single community to facilitate reconstruction and resettlement as well as provision of adequate security by security agencies.

"The project is still at the stage of idea, but we are planning to transform it into a policy, when we will start undertaking a statewide survey of such villages and hamlets to facilitate the merger and reconstruction," he said.

A communique issued at the end of the workshop had, among others, called for synergy among journalists, security agencies, donor organisations, International NGOs and humanitarian actors to promote common understanding of conflict and peace building situations to facilitate the reconstruction of the communities.