25th May, 2017
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday evacuated 270 Nigerian refugees who returned from Cameroon Republic to Nigeria, from Mubi Transit Camp to Borno.
The refuges, mostly women and children, are from Gamboru- Ngala Local Government Area of Borno, who escaped Boko Haram attacks to Cameroon in 2014.
Mr Sa’ad Bello, NEMA Coordinator for Adamawa and Taraba, said the returnees left Cameroon to Nigeria without any official arrangement.
Bello, represented by Mr Abubakar Sadiq, an official of the agency, said that in the last two months 500 Nigerians had left Cameroon to Nigeria without formal communication from the Cameroonian Government.
“So far, today (Thursday) we are evacuating 270 Nigerian refugees from Mubi Transit Camp to Maiduguri.
“The refugees after thorough investigation left Cameroon Republic to Nigeria without any official notification from Cameroon Government.
“Majority of them are women and children and are indigenes of Gamboru Ngala in Borno,’’ Bello said.
He said that the army provided security for the evacuation of the refugees, adding that they would be handed over to the Borno Government.
Bello said that they had been in Mubi since April after they were received by NEMA and security officials at Sahuda, a border village in Nigeria.
Malam Hussaini Hassan, from Gamboru Ngala, who spoke on behalf of the refugees, alleged that they were forced to leave Futokol refugee camp in Cameroon by gendarmes.
Hassan said that they fled Nigeria to Cameroon when Boko Haram terrorists attacked their villages and had remained in the country since then.
“When we arrived at Sahuda, a Nigerian border village with Cameroon in Mubi South Local Government Area of Adamawa, upon sighting the Nigerian flag, women, children and men started shouting.
“Some cried immediately after stepping on Nigerian soil because majority of us did not believe we would ever come back to our beloved country.
“Since we put our legs into Nigeria, we breathed air of freedom and sense of belonging because the way and manner Nigerian security, NEMA among others, received us at the border; we feel we are safe and at home,’’ Hassan said.
He claimed that thousands of Nigerians were still stranded in camps in Cameroon.