Zulum orders IDP camp shutdown over insecurity

Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, has ordered the immediate closure of the internally displaced persons camp in Bama Local Government Area, citing infiltration and a rise in criminal activities within the camp.

The governor announced this on Thursday in Gwoza Local Government Area, shortly after an assessment visit to the Government Secondary School IDP camp.

Addressing the residents, the governor said, “We visited Bama yesterday and supervised the screening of IDPs, and by 12 noon (Thursday), the Bama IDP camp should be closed.

“Today we are here in Gwoza, we have profiled all of them, and insha Allah, in the next two or three weeks, this camp will also be closed.”

The governor said the move follows the relative peace prevailing in most communities hitherto occupied by Boko Haram insurgents.

He expressed deep concern over the rising criminality within IDP camps, pointing to the proliferation of illicit activities that had turned the facilities into hotspots for social vices.

“In our camps now, there is ongoing criminality; we have identified all of them, and they will be resettled based on their localities and to their community heads. Otherwise, Boko Haram/ISWAP are gradually infiltrating the camps,” he said.

 Zulum also raised the alarm over the disturbing trend of people leaving their homes to resettle in camps to collect relief items from non-governmental organisations.

The governor hinted that a significant number of fake IDPs had been identified during the screening exercise, stressing that the government could not sustain the maintenance of camps under such circumstances.

He also indicated that the Gwoza IDP camp would follow the Bama camp in the next phase of closures.

“Many of those who are residents living in their homes are returning to the camps to receive handouts from non-governmental organisations.

“We will ensure the returns are sustainable. One year ago, this was almost a ghost camp with not more than about 400 households. It is surprising that about 3,000 households are back in the camp, and most of them are residents living within the town,” he said.