Zulum to close IDPs camp, resettles 10,000 individuals from Dikwa, Mafa

Zulum explained that Muna camp, originally an informal settlement, has seen rapid population growth, but efforts to resettle its residents are yielding results…

By Daniel Oyakhire Iregbeyen, Maiduguri 

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum Umara, has announced the resettlement of 6,000 families displaced by Boko Haram insurgents mostly hailed from Dikwa and Mafa local government areas of the state.

Zulum announced the plan on Monday at Muna IDP camp, one of the largests with about 11,000 families taking refuge due to the over a decade old crisis in Borno.

Addressing journalists, Zulum reiterated that the resettlement became imperative due to the high-level of illicit activities in the camp. 

“Boko Haram can never be eradicated without resettlement taking place. People have to go back to their homes and earn their livelihood. We have observed that in the IDP camp, there is increasing prostitution, increasing gangsterism, cases of child abuse and other criminalities,” Zulum said.

He added, “If you could remember, about four years ago, we announced that all formal IDP camps within Maiduguri metropolis would be closed. So far, so good, we have closed all down, about 12 of them. We have two informal camps remaining. We have resettled about 75% of the IDPs here (Muna camp), and the remaining 25% will return to their ancestral localities in the next few days.

According to Zulum, each of the 6,000 families will receive food aid, shelter materials, and access to healthcare services as part of the resettlement process.

He also announced that while each head of both male and female households receives N100,000, an additional N50,000 will be distributed to the housewives.

Zulum said the closure of formal IDP camps within the metropolis was a long-standing policy of his administration, noting that the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is critical to ending insurgency in the state.