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Politics not Conditions Driving Plans to Return More than One Million Displaced Persons in Northeast Nigeria, Putting Lives at Risk
Washington, D.C. – As Nigeria approaches its national elections in early 2019, political priorities are accelerating plans to return displaced civilians to areas in Northeast Nigerian once held by the extremist group Boko Haram. Refugees International (RI) details the current conditions in the new report, Political Pressure to Return: Putting Northeast Nigeria’s Displaced Citizens at Risk, and outlines the risks in pushing displaced Nigerians to return before secure and sustainable conditions exist.
“While the Nigerian military has liberated a number of areas in Northeast Nigeria from Boko Haram control, major security challenges remain, making large-scale returns for the majority of displaced civilians entirely premature,” said RI Senior Advocate Mark Yarnell. “Nigerian officials are pressing for large-scale returns to these recently liberated areas, often before conditions can legitimately support returning civilians. Basic services, including housing and security, do not yet exist.”
Refugees International conducted its mission to Nigeria in January 2018 to assess the viability of proposed returns and the status of the wider humanitarian response. Since its last mission to Nigeria in 2016, RI found that overall conditions in many areas of Northeast Nigeria have improved. However, the scale of the humanitarian and security challenges within Nigeria remains staggering with more than 1.6 million Nigerians displaced within the country and 7.7 million in urgent need of emergency assistance.
Additionally, conflict with Boko Haram continues to result in new displacement. A number of humanitarian groups estimate more than 930,000 Nigerians are located in hard-to-reach areas impacted by the security situation are likely in need of humanitarian assistance.
“In particular, we are alarmed that Nigerian officials are planning to close all displacement camps by May 2018 and facilitating large-scale returns in the northeast state of Borno, especially to remote areas only recently secured from Boko Haram,” said RI Advocate for Sub-Saharan Africa Alexandra Lamarche. “Some displaced people have started to voluntarily return to their hometowns; eager to leave camps due to poor conditions. However, we are concerned that many returns are being fueled by official pressure and the spread of misinformation.”
During its mission, the RI team travelled to Abuja, Maiduguri, and Bama and interviewed a wide range of displaced Nigerian civilians, returnees, international aid officials, and representatives of the Nigerian government and military. The team found, for example, that the overall conditions in Bama town are not conducive to sustainable returns at this time, especially on a large scale. Services for returnees are lacking, and the security situation is uncertain. However, political pressure for returns to go forward is likely to increase with the approach of the 2019 national elections.
Refugees International believes that the Nigerian government should refrain from carrying out large-scale organized returns to Bama and other areas until conditions are conducive to safe and dignified returns and humanitarian conditions allow. Doing so prematurely would put lives at risk. RI is also concerned that large-scale return programs promoted by the government under current circumstances will inevitably create the likelihood that returns will be less than voluntary.
Based on its assessments, Refugees International urges the Nigerian government, the United Nations, and international organizations to take the following actions:
- The Nigerian government must produce clear and coherent plans for voluntary returns. It is also crucial that they develop and adopt a domestic legal framework for the protection and assistance of the displaced.
- The United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies must improve their cooperation and coordination efforts to effectively fill critical information gaps. They must coordinate to develop a coherent and principled approach to engagement with the Nigerian military.
- Donor governments and international financial institutions should maintain and increase funding and ensure these contributions are not used to implement harmful policies such as pre-mature returns.
Read the full report and recommendations here.
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For interviews with Mark Yarnell and Alexandra Lamarche, please contact Gail Chalef, Senior Communications Officer, at (202) 540-7026 or at gail@refugeesinternational.org
Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding. For more information, visit www.refugeesinternational.org