The United
Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned against the increasing
return of refugees from Cameroon, insisting that the northeast was not yet
safe.
The UN
agency said it had a commitment with the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments
to seek ways for voluntary, dignified, sustainable and safe return of the
refugees and assured that steps were being taken to ensure that they return to
safety and dignity.
The warning
followed the sudden return of no fewer than 10,000 Nigerian refugees in less
than two weeks after the signing of a tripartite agreement with the Nigerian
and Cameroonian governments.
Consequently,
the Nigerian government and UNHCR visited the Minawao refugee camp in northern
Cameroon on a fact-finding mission.It however, gathered that some of the
refugees were forced to return and denied asylum, but the Cameroonian
authorities denied the claim and assured that refugees would not be forced to leave
the camp or villages until conditions for their return were normalised.
A statement
from the UNHCR disclosed that the agency and the Nigerian Immigration Service
(NIS) have registered over 270,000 returnees from Cameroon and Niger Republic,
adding that 7 per cent of the returnees claimed to have been forcibly returned
to Nigeria.
Meanwhile,
the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has said that Dangote Foundation was
the largest donor towards the rehabilitation efforts as it had given out N1
billion worth of building materials for the reconstruction of Bama, Gwoza and
Damasak communities that were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.
The Governor
disclosed this yesterday in Maiduguri, while distributing 2.6 million bags and
cartons of wheat meal, semolina, rice, guinea corn, beans, spaghetti, noodles,
tomato paste to 17,611 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) households at
Government House.
He said the
foundation has been consistent in its support towards overcoming the challenges
in Borno and the North-East region of the country.Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer of Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou said Borno State was
close to their hearts because of what has happened and the close relationship
the foundation enjoyed with Shettima.
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