THE Adamawa state government has on Friday began reintegration of the 133 Nigerian refugees, who returned to the country after six years in Cameroon.
The Director Refugees, Migrants and Affairs, Lawal Hamadu told THE ICIR that the returnees are currently undergoing medical chek-up.
According to him, this exercise is to ensure they are medically sound, without any form of the disease, after which the immigration service would conduct documentation of their nationality.
Adamawa government were present to convey the refugees to their various communities where they fled from, he said.
The state government is here to “identify and take home their indigenes,” he said.
The Nigeria Deputy Chief, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Roger Hollo, UNHCR in a tweet welcomed the 23 families from Adamawa and Bauchi States.
“We are committed to supporting these families for sustainable integration back into their communities,” Roger said.
The commission said there were about 95,000 Nigerians in Cameroon taking refuge over insecurity in Lake Chad Basin of which 8000 are indigenes of Adamawa, and others are from Borno and Yola states.
Earlier, the Minister for Humanitarian Services, Disaster Management, and Internally Displaced Persons, Sadiya Faruk, said the repatriation was the first phase. Repatriation would continue for all those willing to come back to their homes, she added.
Faruk said the Nigerian and the Adamawa government were elated to welcome the refugees and reintegrate them into society.
The secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Basir Ahmed also, said the refugees would be moved to a conservative area for security purpose.
He said community heads would be invited to identify the various refugees, verify where they claimed to flee from and take them back home.
The returnees arrived on Thursday at the Yola International Airport aboard the Nigerian Air Force C130
They were accompanied by officials of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, UNHCR, IOM, NAPTIP, security agencies and other humanitarian organisations.
The UNHCR records that violent attacks by non-state armed groups in parts of North-East Nigeria have displaced over 240,000 Nigerians, with Borno State being the most affected.