Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who moved almost a year ago into a housing unit meant for 1,000, face being chucked out of their houses and on to the streets in five days because they do not have residency permits.

The IDPs, originally from Dalori camp in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, moved into the housing unit after the camp was shut down in July 2022.

The aim was for the state to enable them to resettle in their ancestral hometowns.

Government authorities issued an occupancy permit to those who could not be resettled because their hometowns were still under attack by insurgents. In most cases their homes had been destroyed and it was still too dangerous for them to return.

They were moved temporarily to the 1,000-place housing unit along the Maiduguri-Bama road.

However, some IDPs who could not get permits also moved in because they had no place else to go.

This week government authorities gave them five days to vacate their houses.

Alhaji Kadu, one of those without a permit, told RNI that he had nowhere else to go.

“There are about 300 of us that have been ordered to vacate the housing unit. We have no place else to go. We don’t know what we will do. We will be chucked out on to the streets.  We cannot go back to our ancestral hometowns because it is not safe. There is still too much insecurity.”

A woman, who identified herself only as YaaMaji, said government officials had arrived out of the blue and had told them that they had to vacate the housing unit within five days.

“We have to nothing eat, let alone trying to find another place to stay. When we were foraging in the forest to find food just three days ago some of the IDPs were captured by Boko Haram [Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād – JAS] insurgents. We were told that if we wanted them back we would have to pay. We all contributed what we could so that they could be released. Now we are afraid to go back to the forest to search for food.”

Babagana Usman, who does have a residency permit, said that the IDPs who did not were allowed to stay in the housing unit in the beginning because it was still relatively empty and having them stay would prevent the theft of property, such as tiles, windows, ceilings, fans and doors.

He said even though they lived in the housing unit they were still not safe. He confirmed that 13 people had been captured by the JAS and that everyone had contributed to pay the ₦3,000 before they were released.

The IDPs without permits said they were pleading with the government to allow them to stay. They also called on the state to provide more security so that they could go to the forest to find food without the fear of being captured.

FALMATA MOHAMMED ALI