TheCable

The Yobe state government has closed the Bukar Ali internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp, Damaturu, the state capital, relocating 391 persons back to their communities.

Speaking at the official closure of the camp, Ibrahim Gaidam, governor of the state, said the closure followed requests by occupants who said they wanted to return home.

Represented by Musa Jidawa, executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Gaidam said the his administration had spent N35 million for the upkeep of those at the camp.

“The amount include a return package for their relocation. Each of the returning 92 households received two bags of rice, a bag of beans, vegetable oil, cooking pots, nylon mats, soap and N20,000 as return package,” he said.

Gaidam thanked humanitarian partners for their contributions to the IDPs while at the camp.

The governor announced the donation of a power generating machine, three tents to be used as classrooms, eight compartments of VIP latrines, a clinic and a kitchen used by the displaced persons to Bukar Ali Primary School that hosted them.

According to NAN, the return of peace and security to the liberated communities made the IDPs demand to return home.