Addressing a delegation of the International Committee for the Red Cross, led by its President, Mr. Peter Maurer, in Maiduguri, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, said the State government needed the assistance of the Federal Government and international donor agencies to rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons.
The Borno State Government on Tuesday said over $20m would be needed to resettle those displaced by the Boko Haram menace in their homelands.
At a time in 2014, the terror sect captured and occupied 22 of the 27 local governments areas of Borno State, which led to about two million people fleeing to Maiduguri, the State capital, while others ran to neighboring countries of Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
Addressing a delegation of the International Committee for the Red Cross, led by its President, Mr. Peter Maurer, in Maiduguri, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, said the State government needed the assistance of the Federal Government and international donor agencies to rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons.
Shettima was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha.
The governor lamented that since the displacement of many residents from their communities by the Boko Haram militants, the State government had shouldered the responsibility of feeding the IDPs through the State Emergency Management Agency.
He admitted that military troops had liberated most of the communities under the control of Boko Haram in the State.
He added that the government and the IDPs found it difficult to go back to their homes and restate their normal lives due to security reports that most of the roads and streets, leading to the affected communities and their farmlands, were not safe as Improvised Explosive Devices and landmines were planted by the fleeing terrorists.
The governor commended the effort of the Red Cross for its humanitarian assistance to the victims of the insurgency.
He said, “We, the government and good people of Borno State, want to use this opportunity to thank you (Red Cross), NEMA and other donor agencies for supporting us in this our trying moment. Twenty-two out of the 27 local government areas were destroyed, over million IDPs are living in Maiduguri, the state capital alone.
“Just yesterday, we received another batches of 4,500 IDPs from Geidam, who were sent away by the government of Niger Republic and more are still on their way to Maiduguri.
“Borno State needs over 20 million dollars to resettle its people that were displaced as most houses, business centers and places of worship were all destroyed by the insurgents.
“Though, the military has liberated 97 per cent of the communities taken over by insurgents in Borno, it will take time for the government to fumigate and diffuse the landmines before they are relocated to their various communities.”
The President of the ICRC, Maurer, told the deputy governor that they came to the state to personally see the IDPs and hear from them, particularly of their conditions.
He said this might inform the action of the organization to considerably increase its humanitarian gestures as a result of the renewed attacks and killings by the sect.