FG begins repatriation of 7,790 Nigerian refugees from Chad

Babagana Zulum, Borno state governor, led the Nigerian delegation to Baga Sola in Chad Republic to commence the repatriation of 7,790 refugees displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Zulum was accompanied by Yusuf Sununu, minister of state for humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction. Saleh Tidjani, governor of Lac province in Chad, received the delegation. 

Also on the team was Jerome Merlin, second representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Baga Sola, alongside several federal and state officials.

The first phase of the repatriation would see 1,768 families return to Nigeria.

Before the process began, Zulum attended the signing of a tripartite agreement between Nigeria, Chad, and the UNHCR in Baga Sola.

Sununu signed on behalf of Nigeria, Haggar for Chad, and Merlin for the UN refugee agency.

Zulum said only those who expressed a desire to return would be repatriated.

He also thanked the government of Chad for sheltering Nigerians displaced by the insurgency.

Most of the refugees, originally from Borno, have spent nearly a decade in Chad after fleeing attacks around the Lake Chad Basin.

Other members of the delegation included Abdulkadir Ghani, head of chancery at the Nigerian Embassy in N’Djamena; Karta Ma’aji, member of the Borno state house of assembly; Usman Tar, commissioner for information; Sugun Mai Mele, commissioner for local government affairs; and Mustapha Busuguma, permanent secretary to the Borno governor.

Sununu commended Zulum for his leadership, describing him as a model for effective collaboration between the federal and state governments.

“I want to thank the executive governor of Borno state for showing leadership during crises and serving as a role model in terms of complete collaboration with the federal government and for providing all the necessary support,” he said.