3,000 Nigerians repatriated from Chad, Niger, Cameroon in 6 months — FG

The federal government has said that about 3,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Chad, Cameroon and Niger since the beginning of the year.

The Honourable Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijani Ahmed, stated this during the commemoration of World Refugee Day, recently in Abuja.

He added that NCFRMI has been instrumental in the reception and registration of asylum seekers from Cameroon living in Adamawa, Cross River, Benue, Taraba, Akwa Ibom and Nigeriens living in Borno and Yobe states.

“About 3,000 Nigerian refugees were voluntarily repatriated back to Nigeria in Borno State in January 2026. Efforts are in place to sign a tripartite agreement for the voluntary return of Nigerian refugees in Niger Republic,” he said.

Ahmed expressed worry over what he termed the “tragic images” coming from Sudan, Syria, Cameroon, the Republic of Niger, Turkey, Eastern DRC and the Middle East, stressing that they depict global volatility and have the potential to add to the backlog of humanitarian demands on the country.

Ahmed noted that Nigeria, through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has strived to respect a key humanitarian obligation of upholding the principle of non-refoulement, ensuring that asylum seekers are granted free access into the territory of Nigeria.

Also, the UNHCR Representative to Nigeria, Arjun Jain, told global leaders that seeking safety is a non-negotiable human right.

Jain said that the treaty was established after the Second World War as a universal promise to protect anyone fleeing conflict or persecution.

Represented by the UNHCR Deputy Representative, Bernadette Muteshi, he said: “Today, that safety net is under immense pressure, but human rights are not negotiable.

“Safety should not be a privilege. No one is truly safe until the most vulnerable among us are safe.

“No one chooses to leave everything they love behind. The right to seek safety is a sacred promise of shared humanity.”