Number Of IDPs Soars By One Million In The Last Year

The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has increased by one million in the last year.

The National Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, (NCRMI) Hajiya Imaan Ibrahim revealed this on Wednesday when he visited the headquarters of the Islamic Forum of Nigeria, Farm Centre, Kano.

She disclosed that the increase was due to the current unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and the alarming growth rate of displacement of persons in the country.

Ibrahim emphasized that with over 500,000 Nigerians awaiting repatriation from Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Mali, Libya and other countries, a joint effort and synergy would help the commission in providing the Persons of Concern (POC) with the most durable solutions in areas of empowerment, education and psychosocial support whilst offering solutions to ensure their total reintegration, rehabilitation and resettlement.

The commissioner alluded to support for the POC through the Project Zero Hunger initiative which focuses on the provision of food materials and support the mobilisation of relief materials to positively impact the lives of vulnerable persons especially, our internally displaced persons.

The visit she said was to establish a relationship between the commission and the forum in order to address migration-related issues.

Earlier, the National Chairman of Islamic Forum of Nigeria, Ahmad Muhammad Daku, represented by the Vice-Chairman, M.T. Bello, applauded the commission in the quest for the attainment of the federal government’s coordinated approach towards social inclusion as well as the commission’s strategic intent in the provision of necessary assistance and support to the POCS through the most sustainable solutions.