Nigerian Refugees in Chad, Cameroon, Niger to Return Soon - Osinbajo
Nigerian Refugees in Chad, Cameroon, Niger to Return Soon - Osinbajo
allAfrica, 09 Jun 2016
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/201606090975.html
By Joshua Odeyemi
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said the federal government would soon make arrangements for the return of Nigerian refugees in Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Declaring open the ministerial meeting on protection in the Lake Chad Basin in Abuja, Osinbajo said: "The problem is further compounded by the large influx of Nigerian refugees to neighbouring countries and the attendant protection and human right issues arising therefrom".
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there are 82, 524 Nigerian refugees in Niger Republic alone.
After repatriating 80,000 to Nigeria earlier, there are still 65, 089 Nigerians in Cameroon while another 7,337 are in refugee camps in Chad.
While thanking Niger, Cameroon and Chad for receiving and hosting the Nigerians, Osinbajo assured that Nigeria would make necessary arrangements for the return of those who fled to neighbouring countries as soon as modalities for the exercise were jointly agreed by all.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr. Toby Lanzer, has warned that some IDPs and refugees may not be willing to return to their homes.
Speaking at the occasion, he noted that Maiduguri for example had grown from a city of one million to 2.1 million people because of the influx of people from neighbouring towns and villages, stressing that governments of the four countries must begin to plan for demographic growths.
Lanzer who lamented that from the 20 million people in the Lake Chad region, 9 million of them were displaced while an average of 5 million of them would go to bed hungry every night, called for more actions from the Lake Chad countries against extreme poverty.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said the federal government would soon make arrangements for the return of Nigerian refugees in Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Declaring open the ministerial meeting on protection in the Lake Chad Basin in Abuja, Osinbajo said: "The problem is further compounded by the large influx of Nigerian refugees to neighbouring countries and the attendant protection and human right issues arising therefrom".
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there are 82, 524 Nigerian refugees in Niger Republic alone.
After repatriating 80,000 to Nigeria earlier, there are still 65, 089 Nigerians in Cameroon while another 7,337 are in refugee camps in Chad.
While thanking Niger, Cameroon and Chad for receiving and hosting the Nigerians, Osinbajo assured that Nigeria would make necessary arrangements for the return of those who fled to neighbouring countries as soon as modalities for the exercise were jointly agreed by all.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr. Toby Lanzer, has warned that some IDPs and refugees may not be willing to return to their homes.
Speaking at the occasion, he noted that Maiduguri for example had grown from a city of one million to 2.1 million people because of the influx of people from neighbouring towns and villages, stressing that governments of the four countries must begin to plan for demographic growths.
Lanzer who lamented that from the 20 million people in the Lake Chad region, 9 million of them were displaced while an average of 5 million of them would go to bed hungry every night, called for more actions from the Lake Chad countries against extreme poverty.