Over 120, 000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, have pleaded for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s help to return to their ancestral homes in Borno State, Nigeria.
The call was made since February 8, 2024, via a letter to Tinubu by the president of the Nigerian Refugees in Cameroon (NRC), Mr. Luka Isaac, a copy which was made available to our Correspondent on Sunday in Maiduguri.
According to Isaac, the refugees are from Gwoza East of the local council, comprising 21 communities that included Arganjara, Agapalawa, Amuda, and 15 other villages in the border areas with Cameroon.
Lamenting refugees living conditions at the Minawao Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, he said, “We cannot return to our communities, because of the continuous occupation of ancestral homes by the Boko Haram terrorists since 2013.”
The refugees also pleaded with the Federal Government and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pay adequate compensations to them, as well as the general damages of their property in Gwoza local council.
According to the refugees’ President, the compensations be on untold hardships, mental traumas, and the disruption of family lives, while in the Cameroonian IDP camp.
Isaac noted that the refugees’ return to Nigeria will not only save them from harassment and dehumanization but redeem the image of the Federal Government from the international community.
The refugees comprising mainly women and children, set conditions of their return to Nigeria.
“The security situation in Gwoza East be improved with the deployment of more soldiers and fighting equipment,” said Isaac in the letter to Tinubu.
Besides improved security, IDP camps be established with infrastructural facilities for water supply, education and healthcare delivery services.
On the refugees’ living conditions in Cameroon camp, Isaac said, “Your Excellency, President Tinubu, since 2013 the IDPs were attacked and displaced from their ancestral homes by the Boko Haram terrorists.
“On arrival in Cameroon in 2013, the authorities, United Nations Agencies, Naitonal and International Organisations attended to our basic needs of life in camp, located in north part of the country.”
Isaac added, “At present the supplies have been depleted, thereby exposing the refugees to various challenges. The challenges comprise hunger and inadequate healthcare services.”