The National Commission For Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has said no fewer than 91,000 Nigerians taking refuge in Cameroun are set to return back this month, following the tripartite agreement reached for the voluntary repatriation.
The tripartite commission, which comprised Nigeria, Cameroun and UNHCR, is meant to ensure the voluntary and dignified return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroun in line with international best practice. While fielding questions from newsmen in Yola on the Nigerian preparedness, Lawal Hamidu, Director, Refugees and Migrants Affairs of the commission, said measures were being taken to ensure safe, dignified return and sustainable reintegration of 91,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroun.
“This followed agreement reached under the tripartite commission and it comprised Nigeria, Cameroun and the UNHCR meant to ensure the voluntary and dignified return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroun in line with international best practice. “The Commission has since directed the Technical Working Group to conclude concrete operational modalities and support measures, including setting timetable and procedures to ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of Nigerian refugees from Cameroun.
‘’We are expecting them this month; 4,000 are indigenes of Adamawa while Borno state has the largest numbers of 87,000, so we are expecting the return of 91,000 Nigerians from Cameroun,’’ he said. He stated further that the affected states of Adamawa and Borno were directed to develop a phased-approach for organised return of the refugees based on the security situation in the North-east. “Hence the need for various bilateral and multilateral development partners to raise the necessary funds to facilitate the repatriation and restoration programme,’’ he stressed. Blueprint recalls that in June 2016, a tripartite agreement was drafted by Nigeria, Cameroun and the UNHCR, along with other stakeholders and was signed on March 2, 2017 in Yao