From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Borno State has closed two major camps for those displaced by over a decade of Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resetlement, Engr Mustapha Gubio who led a team of government officials, Monday announced official closure of the NYSC IDPs camp.
“We officially close the NYSC IDPs camp in Maiduguri today (Thursday) and hand over the camp to the NYSC management,” Gubio declared as he shut gate after evacuation of IDPs.
He said the IDPs were given three option of either accepting financial support to secure accommodation in the state capital, relocate to their communities or to the newly built houses at Auno a small community some 24 kilometres to Maiduguri.
He also said the state government would renovated the NYSC camp to ensure the youth service orientation camping returns to Borno.
He said about 3,000 IDPs have so far been relocated out of camps since the commencement of the Resetlement exercise late 2020. The recent relocation exercise in Maiduguri started last week at MOGOLIS camp and continued weekend with the NYSC IDPs camp, the first and oldest camp for displaced Borno Haram victims in northeast.
Scores of the IDPs were seen last Saturday packing their luggage in preparation for the relocation. They were conveyed in buses provided by the state government and trucks chattered by the IDPs to different locations depending on their choice. Some of them mostly from Bama and Konduga Local Governments opted to relocate to Auno after securing apartments in the newly built houses.
The state government said adequate security and water supply have been provided to ensure the convenience of the IDPs. It also said farmlands have been demarcated to encourge farmers as the farming season set in.
Gov Babagana Zulum has vowed to close “all camps in Maiduguri on or before May 29, 2021,” insisting maintenance of IDPs camps was “no longer sustainable.’