Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has facilitated the return of the first batch of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, with 300 persons resettled in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.
The returnees, drawn from 74 households, arrived at the Pulka border community in what officials described as an organised and dignified repatriation exercise.
Speaking at Pulka on Tuesday on behalf of the governor, Chairman of the Borno State Sub-Committee on Repatriation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, said the return marked the end of over a decade of displacement for the affected families.
He stated, “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 exercise as a major success of the Zulum administration, stressing that it went beyond relocation.
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.”
The exercise also drew support from Cameroonian authorities, as the Governor of Cameroon’s Far North Region, Minjinyawa Bakari, personally saw off the refugees, underscoring ongoing regional collaboration to address the humanitarian fallout of insurgency in the Lake Chad basin.
On arrival in Pulka, the returnees were received by security agencies and local government officials.
The moment was marked by emotional scenes, with some returnees kneeling to touch the soil of their homeland, others offering prayers, while children, many of whom were born or raised in Cameroon, looked on in quiet curiosity.
To support reintegration, each household head was given ₦500,000 in cash, while an additional ₦50,000 was provided to each wife.
The Borno State Government also distributed mattresses and wrappers, while the National Commission for Refugees supplied food items, including rice, millet, beans and cooking oil.
The repatriation marks the first phase of a wider plan aimed at restoring stability, rebuilding infrastructure and reviving livelihoods in communities affected by insurgency across the state.
Those who accompanied the BOSCR chairman 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, Murdakai Titus.
