*Says 1.8 million displaced in Birmingham alone
By Ralph Christopher
The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has commenced talks with the Borno State Government to bring back indigenes of the state from neighboring countries.
The Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, stated this in an interview shortly after a meeting with a delegation of Borno State Goveenment led by Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the commission in collaboration with its development partners like United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) is geared towards creating a lasting solution to the returning refugees to Borno State and any other state in the federation.
“The Commission will do everything possible to bring back the indigenes of Borno state from our neighboring countries in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law as we seek to put everything in place for easy reintegration and rehabilitation to safer communities for them”, Sen. Mohammed added.
“Nigeria has the second largest number of displaced persons in Africa and Borno State with a figure of 1.8 million displaced persons is the biggest in the country.
“Therefore, this means a lot to the government to bring back home the concerned persons to a life of dignity and prosperity”, he said.
“This is part of our focal project this year – the resettlement city – which is geared towards moving away from being just food providers to the refugees and displaced persons to finding sustainable solutions to their problems by transiting them into full and dignified settlements”, he said.
Governor Zulum said the reach out from the indigenes are positive and beneficial, as the refuges want nothing more than to return to Nigeria knowing there is no place like home.
He commended the Commissioner over his hardwork and progressive efforts in making life better for refugees and displaced persons in the country.
