Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has repatriated the first batch of 300 Nigerian refugees from Cameroon to Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The returnees, comprising 74 households, arrived at the Pulka border community in a coordinated and dignified homecoming process to Borno State.
Representing the governor, the Chairman of the State’s Sub-Committee on Repatriation (BOSCR), Lawan Abba Wakilbe, disclosed this on Tuesday at Pulka.
According to him, “The journey for the families represented not merely a border crossing, but an emotional passage from displacement to building their livelihoods, after spending 11 years at the Minawao IDP camp in Cameroon.
“This milestone follows Zulum’s visit to their Cameroonian camp on December 8th, 2025, where he pledged a voluntary, safe, and dignified return process to Borno State.”
Wakilbe described the repatriation process as a significant achievement in the life of the present Zulum administration.
Beyond the repatriation of the first batch of refugees, he added: “This homecoming is a testament to our collective resolve.
“We are not just moving people, but restoring people’s lives by reigniting their hopes in our border communities.”
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In a show of regional solidarity, the Governor of Cameroon’s Far North Region, Minjinyawa Bakari, personally bade the refugees farewell, reaffirming bilateral cooperation in addressing the humanitarian impact of insurgency around the Lake Chad region.
Upon arrival in Pulka, the returnees were formally received by local authorities and security officials.
In an emotional display, some of the returnees knelt to touch the soil of their homeland, others offered prayers, while children, many of whom had spent most of their lives in Cameroon, observed their ancestral home with curiosity.
Each head of household received ₦500,000 in cash, with an additional ₦50,000 given to each wife to facilitate smooth reintegration into the Pulka border community.
The state government also provided mattresses and wrappers, while the National Commission for Refugees supplied essential food items, including bags of rice, millet, beans, and kegs of cooking oil.
This first phase of the repatriation exercise forms part of a broader strategy to stabilise resettled communities, rebuild infrastructure, and restore livelihoods across insurgency-affected areas of the state.
Personalities who accompanied the Chairman of BOSCR included members of the Borno State House of Assembly representing Kaga, Gwoza, and Gulumba constituencies, Mustafa Alibe Benishiekh, Buba Abatcha, and Baba Shehu Gulumba, as well as the Chairman of Gwoza Local Government Council, Abba Shehu Timta, and an official of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRM-IDP), Murdakai Titus.
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