By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro
On Monday, the governor of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria visited the Muna refugee camp and announced plans to close it within the coming weeks.
Since 2021, the Borno regional government has shut down 17 refugee camps around Maiduguri, a city at the heart of Nigeria’s long-running jihadist insurgency. Muna, the largest of these camps, was home to more than 10,000 families as of early 2024.
The camp’s closure had previously been delayed due to severe flooding in Borno last September. However, Governor Babagana Zulum cited rising crime within the camp as a reason for expedited action.
Over the past 15 years, more than 80% of the two million people displaced by the conflict between the Nigerian military and Boko Haram have taken refuge in official camps. The government offers displaced families between €20 and €50 to return to their home communities or move to designated “safe zones.”
Human rights organizations have criticized these efforts, saying the state provides inadequate support for families to rebuild their lives.
“The Borno State government is harming hundreds of thousands of displaced people already living in precarious conditions to advance a dubious government development agenda to wean people off humanitarian aid,” said Anietie Ewang, a Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a 2022 press release. “By forcing people from camps without creating viable alternatives for support, the government is worsening their suffering and deepening their vulnerability.”
Meanwhile, the region continues to face escalating violence. Two jihadist attacks in late April left nearly 50 people dead, and another assault in January killed at least 40 farmers.
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