Nigeria launches initiative for repatriation of citizens taking refuge in neighboring countries amid terrorism

By Adam Abu-bashal

ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - Efforts have been initiated for the return of Nigerian citizens who sought refuge in neighboring countries due to attacks by terrorist organizations, a Nigerian official said on Friday.

Commissioner of the Nigerian Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons Ahmad Tijjani said that the Commission would outline the procedures to be followed in the process of the return of citizens who took shelter in neighboring countries Chad, Cameroon, and Niger in his statement.

Tijjani also noted that the government decided to close the "internally displaced persons camps" in the Borno state of Nigeria.

Since the early 2000s, Boko Haram, operating in Nigeria, has been responsible for mass violence, and since 2009, over 20,000 people have lost their lives in the group's large-scale violent attacks.

Due to terrorist attacks and conflicts in the country, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to migrate.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul