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From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The first batch of 300 Nigerian refugees repatriated from Cameroon on Tuesday have returned to their community in Borno State, 11 years after Boko Haram attacks forced them to flee.
The returnees, comprising 75 households, arrived Pulka, a hilly town in Gwoza Local Government Area near the Cameroon border, about 135 kilometres southeast of Maiduguri.
Chairman of the Borno State Sub-Committee on Repatriation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, described the exercise as a “significant achievement” for the Borno government.
“This homecoming is a testament to our collective resolve. We are not just moving people; we are restoring lives and reigniting hope in our communities,” Wakilbe said.
He announced that the state government has provided ₦500,000 to each household and an additional ₦50,000 to each wife to facilitate smooth resettlement.
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They were received by local government officials and heads of security agencies in the area.
Some of the returnees reportedly knelt down to touch the soil of their homeland for the first time in a decade as soon as they arrived. Others also offered prayers, while many of their children appeared lost, apparently not familiar with their ancestral home, having been born in Cameroon.
The safe repatriation followed the 8 December 2025 visit of Governor Babagana Zulum to the refugees’ camp in Cameroon. He had promised during the visit to expedite action on the voluntary and dignified repatriation of the citizens to their homeland.
The governor’s spokesman, Malam Dauda Illiya, in a statement, said the journey for the families represents not mere border crossing, but “an emotional passage from displacement to building their livelihood after 11 years in IDP camp in Cameroon Republic.”
Hundreds of Borno residents had fled their homes in the wake of Boko Haram attacks between 2014 and 2017 and crossed the Nigerian border to Cameroon, Chad and Niger republics. Borno shares regional borders with these African nations.
