In last 7 years, we’ve repatriated over 100,000 Nigerians in lake chad region, says Gov. Zulum
Kunle Sanni
The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has disclosed that the current administration has facilitated the repatriation of at least 100,000 Nigerians from the Lake Chad region due to the ongoing violence in the North-eastern part of the country.
Zulum made this known during a briefing with State House reporters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He clarified that the figure he gave was the official number and that there are still some Nigerians living in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon who have yet to be repatriated.
He, therefore, noted that the current administration is committed to ensuring the safe return and repatriation of the remaining Nigerians in the other neighbouring countries.
“So far so good, within the last six to seven years, not less than 100,000 people were repatriated.
“This is the official figure, the unofficial figures might be more than this. But I want to inform you that we still have remnants of people living in Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
“I need to discuss with the National Commission for Refugees as well as NEMA and other organizations before coming out with a figure. But the most important thing that I want to tell you is that we have started the repatriation.
“And this administration is committed to ensure that all our refugees living in our neighbouring countries are repatriated before the end of this administration, inshallah
About 218,000 Nigerian refugees are living in three neighbouring countries – Cameroon, Chad and the Niger Republic – the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a 2019 report.
