Thousands of displaced people remain in Nigerian camps after five years
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Illustrative image · Alain Nkingi · Pexels · Licence PexelsIn Nigeria, thousands of people displaced in Benue and Borno states are still living in camps more than five years after fleeing their communities. Fear of further attacks and persistent insecurity are preventing their return, according to Daily Trust, which reports testimonies from camp residents.
Thousands of displaced people have lived for more than five years in camps in Benue State, central Nigeria, and Borno State in the north-east, unable to return to their villages because of persistent insecurity, Daily Trust reports. Many fear they will be killed if they go back to their communities of origin.
In Agagbe, in Gwer West Local Government Area, Jacob Ibaah lives in a camp officially opened in 2021 after being displaced several times since 2003. He says residents who returned to their villages were killed or seriously injured in fresh attacks. Dooshima Tyohem, displaced since 2018 and a mother of two, also says she cannot go home because of the danger.
In Abagana, Esther Francis says destruction also prevents people from returning, even where security might allow it. She says men continue to be killed while trying to reach their farms and women are raped, while the reconstruction promised by the government has not taken place. Jessica Mbaneneen Halavaan, who has lived in the Ugba camp for eight years, describes returning to her village as a “suicide mission”, according to Daily Trust.
