More than 100,000 displaced Nigerians living in camps in northeast Nigeria are set to return home soon, but fear for their safety and ability to rebuild their lives, Reuters reports.
The Nigerian government plans to shut down camps housing 150,000 displaced people in Borno and Adamawa states as security improves in the north, according to the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Nigerian army has this year recaptured much territories seized by Islamist extremists Boko Haram in its six year campaign to carve out an Islamic state in the northeast. In retaliation, the militants have hit back with a surge of fatal raids and suicide bombings.
Most people living in the camps reportedly want to return home but fear the threat of attacks, and lack confidence in the military’s ability to protect them.
Some of the displaced people who have already gone back home have reportedly found their houses and land destroyed or occupied by others.
The humanitarian response has so far focused on providing short-term aid, but greater assistance must soon follow to help the displaced move home and rebuild their lives, OCHA said.
The humanitarian community will only support reintegration efforts, including providing cash payments and household supplies, if going home is voluntary and conditions are good enough, said Stéphanie Daviot of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed thousands of people and displaced 2.2 million – more than 90 percent of whom are living with host families in local communities rather than in camps.
