200,000 displaced as Borno govt shuts IDP camps
The decision by the Borno State government to shut down its Internally Displaced Persons’ camps had pushed over 200,000 people affected by the Boko Haram conflict into deeper suffering and destitution, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday.
According to the group, with the IDP camps closure, these over 200,000 people displaced by Boko Haram conflict have been stripped of housing and food.
“This is as the Governor Babagana Zulum-led government fails to provide those removed with adequate alternatives, thereby violating their rights to housing, food, and livelihoods,” the report says.
The 59-page report, themed, ‘Those Who Returned Are Suffering: Impact of Camp Shutdowns on People Displaced by the Boko Haram Conflict in Nigeria,’ documents the effect of the shutdowns, which have disrupted food support for internally displaced persons and compelled them to leave the camps.
Human Rights Watch says Nigerian authorities have failed to provide adequate information or sustainable alternatives to ensure their safety and well-being.
“As a result, displaced people are struggling to meet their most basic needs including food and shelter in the places which they have returned to or where they have resettled,” it says.
Nigerian researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report, Anietie Ewang, said by shutting down the IDP camps, Zulum’s government was harming people already living in precarious condition to advance a dubious agenda
“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.
“By forcing people from camps without creating viable alternatives for support, the government is worsening their suffering and deepening their vulnerability,” he said.
According to the group, from May 2021 to August 2022, Borno State authorities had compelled over 140,000 people to evacuate from eight camps in the state capital, Maiduguri.
It also noted that two other camps are also set to be closed this year, Muna Badawi and 400 Housing Estate (Gubio) Camp, housing a combined total of nearly 74,000 people.
The report also said between April and September 2022, Human Rights Watch interviewed 22 internally displaced persons, including eight in either Dalori I or Gubio camps, as well as 14 who had left the Bakassi camp, which was shut down in November 2021.
“Those who left Bakassi camp sought shelter in Maiduguri or in Bama, their home community. Human Rights Watch also interviewed camp management officials, representatives of international humanitarian agencies, and United Nations officials coordinating assistance in Borno State.
“Food support to the camps stopped soon after Borno State Governor Babagana Umaru Zulum announced in October 2021 that all camps in Maiduguri would be shut down by December 2021. Although several remained open beyond that date, organisations including the UN World Food Programme could not provide support because the slated shutdowns and funding gaps made it impossible to scale up their 2022 plans,” the report says. Punch
