Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has announced plans to shut down the Bama Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp within the next month, marking a significant milestone in the state’s ongoing resettlement and recovery efforts.
The governor made the disclosure on Thursday following an inspection visit to the Government Science Secondary School in Bama, which currently hosts the largest IDP camp in Borno State outside Maiduguri.
According to Zulum, the planned closure forms part of his administration’s strategy to end prolonged displacement in Bama Local Government Area by facilitating the safe return of displaced residents to their original communities.
During the visit, the governor personally supervised a comprehensive screening exercise of displaced persons, spending more than three hours overseeing the process. The exercise was designed to identify and verify genuine households eligible for inclusion in the government’s resettlement programme.
Explaining the purpose of the screening, Zulum said it was necessary to accurately determine the number of displaced families still residing in the camp ahead of the final phase of resettlement.
“We are here to examine the remaining displaced people that are living in the IDP camp with a view to ensuring the closure of Bama IDP camp,” the governor stated.
He revealed that the government had already completed the verification of male heads of households from affected communities and was now working towards concluding the remaining stages of the resettlement exercise.
Zulum disclosed that only three communities remain to be fully resettled before the camp can be permanently closed. The communities are Mayanti, Goniri, and Bula Kuriye.
“We have three communities that are left to be resettled, namely, communities from Mayanti, Goniri, and Bula Kuriye. By the next one month, the Bama IDP camp, which is the largest camp in the state outside the state capital, will be closed,” he said.
Bama Local Government Area was among the regions hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, which forced thousands of residents from their homes and severely disrupted economic and social activities across the area.
For years, many of the displaced residents have remained in camps after fleeing attacks by insurgents. However, the Borno State Government has intensified efforts to restore normalcy by rebuilding communities and supporting the return of displaced persons.
The governor noted that the latest screening and resettlement initiative is aimed at ensuring that displaced families return to their communities in a safe, orderly and dignified manner after years of hardship caused by the insurgency.
Over the past seven years, the state government has successfully resettled several communities in Bama Local Government Area, including Darajamal, Nguro Soye, Goniri, Banki and Abbaram.
Zulum reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to rehabilitating communities devastated by insurgency and helping affected residents rebuild their lives.
He added that the planned closure of the Bama IDP camp represents another major achievement in the state’s broader programme of resettlement, reconstruction and post-conflict recovery.
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