Security Situation in Bornu to be Assessed Before IDPs Return
The security situation in some towns of troubled Borno State would be reassessed before over 12,000 Nigerians taking refuge in Cameroonian towns are to be repatriated, the Executive Secretary of The Victims Support Fund (VSF), Prof. Sunday Ocheche has said.
Ocheche who spoke from Fotokol, in Cameroon, said assessment team would be sent to Borno state to “comprehensively assess” the security situation and accessibilities in the border areas of Gamboru and Ngala towns, before the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Cameroon could be repatriated and resettled in any camp.
Ocheche led a five-member team to Fotokol on Thursday to meet with at fleeing residents of Gamboru and Ngala at three resettlements areas of Mura, Amchide and Fotokol districts, all in Cameroon.
The administrative officer of Fotokol, Mamoudou Umaru Sarki had told the team that over 12,000 Nigerian residents are presently taking refuge in camps in the area.
He said 225 households would be repatriated to Nigeria.
Prof. Ocheche however noted that the displaced persons in Cameroon, could not be relocated and repatriated, until the security “situation and accessibilities” identified by the VSF team, are addressed by the military and Borno state government.
He said: “There are many factors been taking into consideration in determining whether to set up a camp or not. There is no question that there are many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) along the 135 kilometres road to Gamboru.
“We have just crossed the border to Cameroon and quite a number of Nigerians there are anxious to return.”
He added that: “The security situation in Gamboru looks from a layman’s perspective to be okay. The military have done a good job of clearing the place; but you can see, it is a ghost town.
“There is not a single structure, not a single thing standing in Gamboru. Everything has been razed down. The crises of reconstructing
Gamboru is a major one; and when people are going to come back to Gamboru, it is not just to return to a camp or tent; they want to return to a normal life. And these are all issues that this assessment team wanted to take into consideration.”
He however noted that in the interim, for the number of people outside the country that may want to come back, they will be allowed based on the security situations and accessibilities in affected border areas of Borno state.
He said that VSF is going to talk to the military, Borno state government and Stakeholders, before arriving at the “appropriate decision”.
On challenges of relocations to camps, Prof. Ocheche said: “The challenges are numerous. There are issues of structures to put in place and that is the easiest component. But there are also some challenges of provision of medical care, administration of the camps with food, water, electricity and security of camps and the IDPs.”