‘I can still remember the attacks as if they happened yesterday – the horror is still fresh in my mind and to this day I have nightmares; we cannot go back until it is truly safe’.

One of the largest internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps in Borno State will soon be shutting its doors.

But residents of the Bama camp are anxious – they have nowhere else to go and they cannot return to their ancestral hometowns because insurgents still roam the streets and they believe they will be attacked and killed.

“We fled from our hometown 10 years ago. Armed groups attacked the town over and over again. It was terrifying. I can still remember the attacks as if they happened yesterday. The horror is still fresh in my mind,” said Falmata Modu. “We cannot go back until it is truly safe.”

Babagana Umara Zulum, the governor of Borno State, confirmed the plan to close the camp.

His spokesperson, Dauda Iliya, said on Sunday, January 5, that Zulum wanted to resettle all displaced persons in their hometowns or in safe communities close by.

He said it was no longer sustainable for the government to maintain IDP camps.

“I have earlier made a pronouncement that before the end of my tenure, we shall close all IDP camps in Borno State. In fulfilment of this promise, we have started resettlements. You have seen Darajaram and Abbaram. Now, we are focusing on closing one of the biggest IDP camps in the state, which is the Bama camp,” Zulum said.

“The people of the Bama camp should return to their villages because it is degrading for someone who has a home and family to remain in an IDP camp.”

“Bama is one of the communities worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency; the destruction was unimaginable. However, we have made significant progress in our rebuilding efforts in Banki, Darajamal, Mayenti and a host of other settlements,” Zulum said.

During a visit to the Bama Local Government Area, Zulum told residents that the former girls’ secondary school, which has served as the camp’s location, would soon be restored to its original purpose.

“Non-governmental organisations have to take note that there is no going back. We must close these IDP camps and ensure that people are resettled in a safe community in accordance with the Kampala Convention,” Zulum said.

His visit was to facilitate the resettlement of people displaced for more than a decade from their communities because of the insurgency.

In January 2015, Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS) insurgents, more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, stormed Bama in one of the deadliest attacks in the state.

Media – both local and international – reported that more than 2,000 citizens were killed or were “unaccounted for”. The Nigerian Armed Forces played down the figure, claiming 150 people were killed or missing.

Thousands of Bama residents were forced to flee to other parts of the state, mostly settling in IDP camps. Many fled to neighbouring Cameroon.

In December 2021 all official IDP camps were shut down in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Displaced people were displaced again, many for the umpteenth time.

Zulum originally announced his plan to shut down all government-run displaced camps in 2019. Thousands of displaced persons were resettled – but ended up in another IDP camp because their ancestral towns were still not safe or “fully recovered”.

“Bama is the third-largest local government area and one of the local governments that was repeatedly devastated; I can say that the devastation in Bama is much worse than in any other local government in the state,” Zulum said.

Spokesperson Iliya said that before the governor relocated and resettled people, he made sure the area had good security and was safe. Vital civil authority infrastructure, such as a police station and courts, had to be in place.

“The communities are then rebuilt. More than 5,000 homes are being built,” Iliya said. “And there are plans for further social amenities. Reconstruction is still going on.”

Falmata Lawan, a resident of Bama IDP camp, told RNI that she and others fled from Aza village close to Banki town 10 years ago.

“Even now Aza is not habitable because the insurgents are still often seen in the village. Now the Borno State government wants to close the camp and we have nowhere to go. We are begging the government to find us shelters or rehabilitate our homes. The government needs to ensure we will be safe before it closes the camp.

“For now, staying at the camp is safer for us than in our ancestral hometowns. At least we can sleep in the camp with our two eyes closed. With the help we receive from international aid and humanitarian organisations, we get food. We prefer staying here in the camp because it is still unsafe for us to go home,” she said.

“If the camp is closed before we are resettled, we will be forced to find a shelter in Bama town or we will have to look for places nearby that have proper security.

“This IDP camp was a school before it was turned into a camp. We were told that the government wants to close the camp so that it can reconstruct the school. The government wants a functioning school – that is why it wants us out of the camp.”

Falmata Modu told RNI that her ancestral hometown was still not safe.

“We are pleading with the government to rethink the decision to close the camp. There are no people in my hometown and the information we receive is not encouraging. There are insurgents roaming the streets ready to attack,” she said. “We will die if we are sent back there.

“We fled from our hometown 10 years ago. Armed groups attacked the town over and over again. It was terrifying. I can still remember the attacks as if they happened yesterday. The horror is still fresh in my mind.

“So many people died in the attacks. Many people fled from the town during the attack but only a few of us escaped. The others were either killed, abducted or are still unaccounted for. We have many relatives that are still missing and we do not know their whereabouts.

“Personally, I don’t want to return because just thinking about it brings back terrible memories. Those were horrendous experiences. I start shaking when I think of that time 10 years ago. I still have nightmares. I do not want to go back there.”

The Kampala Convention came into force on December 6, 2012. It binds governments to provide legal protection for the rights and wellbeing of those forced to flee inside their home countries due to conflict, violence, natural disasters or development projects.

AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI