There are 500,000 Nigerians awaiting repatriation in three nations, according to Ms. Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons.
The refugees would be returned to Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, Suleiman-Ibrahim stated to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
A High-Level Side Event on “Strengthening Resilience and Sustaining Development: A Humanitarian Development Peace Approach to Leaving No-One Behind” was where she delivered her remarks.
“We have over 500,000 people waiting to be repatriated. We are taking care of the 1,000 persons who will make up the next batch, which will be made up of spontaneous returns that are already taking place, according to the commissioner.
She claims that the Technical Working Group on repatriation, which is led by the Commission, is supplemented by a Presidential Committee on Repatriation in the Northeast.
Over 90,000 repentant Boko Haram ISWAP militants had willingly surrendered to the Army for disarming, deradicalization, and reintegration, according to Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, who had earlier announced the occasion.
He claims that the severe humanitarian situation in the Northeast subregion has had a terrible social and economic impact on the inhabitants, further escalating fragility, and increasing poverty.
Zulum claimed that the Borno State administration has increased the community’s resiliency with the help of the Federal government and, in fact, the entire UN family.
He said that over Nigeria’s entire North-East subregion, they have ensured social cohesiveness, peacebuilding, and sustainable development.
Zulum asked the Nigerian government, the UN, and other development partners to shift their attention from short-term humanitarian assistance to more long-term, durable, and sustainable solutions that would deal with the growing issues.
In addition, he urged the UN to oversee the creation of a robust monitoring and evaluation system that would guarantee that sub-national governments take the lead through efficient community engagement.
