The National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), says about 310,000 Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs),from seven local governments areas of Borno have returned home following liberation of their communities and return of peace.
Mr Muhammad Kanar, the NEMA North-East Coordinator, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Maiduguri.
Kanar said that as at Monday, only about 101,387 IDPs were still remaining in camps across Maiduguri, the Borno capital.
He said that about 67,000 returned to Dikwa; 9,000 to Bama; 13,000, to Konduga;, 5,000 to Lassa; 52,000 to Damboa;52,000 to Banking;71,000 to Gambrun Ngala, and 41,000 returned to Konduga.
Kanar also gave statistics of the number of returnees to other communities, adding that many of the IDPs returned willingly.
“In Konduga, for example, about 41,000 IDPs that returned to the area, were those who returned willingly. You know is a few kilometres from the town, and all their houses had been rebuilt by the state government.
” We have a lot of IDPs in Mafa, which is just 100 kilometres from Maiduguri. Many farmers from Gamborun Ngala have gone back to farm.
“The Borno Ministry of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement (RRR), had already completed re-construction works in some of the councils to enable IDPs return home.
” NEMA, Federal and State Ministries of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, would work together to provide packages to returnee IDPs to enable them become self reliant.
“Also, international Non-Governmental Organisations, have been up and doing in the area of welfare for IDPs as well as provision of optimal health services,” Kanar said.(NAN)
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