Refugees claim the Nigerian government has not kept its promise to provide adequate accommodation and support and say they feel uncertain about their future and extremely vulnerable.

Thousands of refugees who have been repatriated from Chad say the federal government of Nigeria has not kept its promise to provide adequate accommodation and support and they feel uncertain of their future and extremely vulnerable.

“It is as if the government has just dumped us – and now we have to make it on our own,” one refugee told Ndarason.

The federal government handed over food and non-food relief items to the Borno State government to support the resettlement of the refugees on Monday, February 17.

However, the distribution of the relief materials comes with a condition: Once refugees receive the package, they are expected to leave the Gubio internally displaced persons’ camp immediately.

This has left many refugees feeling “uncertain and extremely vulnerable”.

They say the government promised to give them houses and support to ensure they would be able to resettle peacefully in their ancestral hometowns.

But, they say, many of the towns and villages are unsafe and are still racked by attacks by members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“Once you receive the package, you are on your own and you must leave the camp immediately,” refugee Okasha Sai’idu told RNI.

“When we were brought here [Gubio camp in Maiduguri] from Chad, we were told that nobody will not force us to return to our ancestral towns, some of which are still unsafe. But that is not the situation today.”

No arrangements for returnees in Baga

“In fact, the official will give the money only to those who are already on the bus ready to leave the camp; you either go back to Baga or leave the camp and you have to look for accommodation on your own in the host community.

“Many of us do not want to go back to Baga yet because reports coming from there are not encouraging. Attacks by insurgents are still happening and it is not safe. We are afraid to return.”

Sani Abdullahi, a refugee who was taken to Baga after receiving his package, told RNI that there were no provisions or arrangements made by the government for the returnees.

“When you arrive here [Baga] you are on your own. There is no accommodation, nothing for returnees in Baga,” Sani said.

“All those who were brought to Baga were dropped off near a police station close to the main road. Not one was taken to a camp or a house as promised by the officials.

“We were told to get off the bus on the roadside in an open field. When we asked the official about accommodation, we were told that now we are on our own.”

₦200,000 – about US$132 –to start a new life

Sani said before leaving Maiduguri the refugees were given food and non-food items and the sum of ₦200,000 (just over US$132).

He said there was no place to store their belongings and they did not know where to leave them while they searched for somewhere to stay.

“And it is even more difficult for women and children. Our women do not have privacy and lack dignity.

“Most, if not all, have nowhere to spend the night. Some of us occupied empty houses and others stayed in uncompleted buildings. Those who could not find a place to stay were left stranded.

“The refugees whose ancestral home is Doron Baga had to look for transport and pay to get to their hometown. After their arrival, they were informed that Baga is not the safe place they were told it was,” Sani said.

Babagana Bukar Modu, head of the committee in charge of receiving and settling repatriated refugees in Gubio camp, told RNI that all the displaced persons who had been resettled in Baga had received enough food and non-food items to last for more than a month.

They were given ₦200,000 in cash to begin their new life.

Modu said the money would help them to build a hut and they could invest the rest to start a business or buy farming and fishing equipment.

Food items included bags of rice, cartons of spaghetti and vegetable oil. Non-food items were bags of cement, mattresses, mats, blankets, plastic buckets with taps, and rolls of wrappers.

Prior to the repatriation, the Borno State government told flood-displaced persons taking refuge at Gubio to vacate the camp to make way for the repatriated Nigerians from Chad.

Babakura Mamman Gadai, the executive secretary of the Borno State Agency for Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response, said in a recent interview with RNI that the government would keep the refugees in Gubio camp before resettling them.

“We will not force them to return to Baga. Once we are sure of the security situation, the government will provide basic infrastructures before resettling them. The exercise will be voluntary return and according to the international standard.”

Handover ceremony

At the handover ceremony on Monday, Fatima Daura, the director of the refugee department of the National Commission for Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), said: “We are here on behalf of the federal government’s technical working group to formally hand over these relief materials to the Borno State government, and we will continue to do so until all Nigerians taking refuge in other countries return home.”

She said the relief effort would be followed by a medical outreach in the coming days to address the healthcare needs of the returnees.

Abba Lawan Wakilbe, the Borno State commissioner for education and chairman of the sub-committee on repatriation, took possession of the items on behalf of the state government.

He said the intervention would go a long way to ensure the safe and dignified return of the refugees.

He highlighted the “significant improvement in security across Borno State”, noting that areas previously considered unsafe “are now witnessing economic revival, with businesses responding and nightlife gradually returning”.

“Security has improved tremendously compared with 2014. Schools have reopened, businesses are thriving and movement is now possible even at night. These are clear indicators of the progress made under governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s leadership.

With the formal handover completed, the Borno State government would commence the distribution of materials, “ensuring they [the refugees] are effectively reintegrated into their communities”.

Both the NCFRMI and the Borno State government reaffirmed their commitment to provide long-term assistance, emphasising that the intervention was part of Nigeria’s broader humanitarian efforts to support conflict-affected populations and uphold international standards in refugee resettlement.

AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI