Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, North East Nigeria, has paid an official visit to Borno indigenes taking refuge at Minawao camp in Cameroon, an official statement has said.
The statement signed by Malam Isa Gusau, the governor’s Special Adviser on Public Relations and Strategy said the Zulum’s visit was to identify with no fewer than 60,000 Borno indigenes who fled the state due to insecurity.
The statement, made available to newsmen in Maiduguri on Wednesday said the governor was received by Gov. Mijinyawa Bakare of Marwa in Northern Cameroon shortly on arrival on Tuesday.
It said the two-day official visit afforded Zulum the opportunity to meet the refugees who fled different parts of Borno in the wake of Boko Haram attacks.
“The visit focused on how to support the refugees, it was also used to look into their eventual safe return and how to resume their lives,” the statement said.
The statement quoted the governor as announcing the state government plans to build houses at Banki; Bama, Pulka, Gwoza and Darajamal within the next two months for the resettlement of the refugees.
It also stated that Zulum commended the Cameroonian authorities and the host communities for their hospitality and empathy toward the Nigerians.
The statement said that most of the refugees had lived in Cameroon since 2014 when the Boko Haram insurgents took control of more than 20 local government areas of the state.
It said that initially, the UN High Commission for Refugees estimated the populations of people in the camp at about, 86, 000, saying that the number reduced following voluntary return of some refugees.
“The governor is expected to visit some border communities between Borno and Cameroon to meet more persons displayed by the insurgency,” it said.
