Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State, alongside key Nigerian government officials, has initiated the repatriation of refugees who fled the Boko Haram crisis to Baga Sola, Chad. The first batch of the repatriation will see 1,768 families, amounting to 7,790 individuals, return to Nigeria.
Governor Zulum was joined by Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, the State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, and Jerome Merlin, the Second Representative of the UNHCR in Baga Sola. They were warmly received by Governor Saleh Haggar Tidjani of Lac Province in Chad on Wednesday.
Before the repatriation kicked off, Zulum participated in the signing of a tripartite agreement in Baga Sola, formalizing the repatriation process between the governments of Nigeria, Chad, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Dr. Sununu signed on behalf of Nigeria, Governor Tidjani for Chad, and Merlin represented UNHCR.
“Only those that have voluntarily indicated interest in returning will be repatriated,” Governor Zulum stated during the signing ceremony.
He also expressed deep gratitude to the government of Chad for hosting thousands of Nigerians displaced by the ongoing Boko Haram conflict.
Governor Zulum’s delegation included the Head of Chancery of the Nigerian Embassy in N’Djamena, Abdulkadir Ibrahim Ghani, Borno State House of Assembly member Hon. Karta Maina Ma’aji, and other government officials.