NEMA receives 6,000 deported Nigerians, expects more

The National Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday said it had received over 3,000 Nigerians deported from Niger.

The agency also disclosed that by the end of the day (Wednesday), it would have taken custody of over 6,000 Nigerians deported from Niger.

This was disclosed by the agency’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, to journalists in Geidam, Yobe State.

He added, “We just received communication from Nigerien government that another set of 3,000 persons are been sent to us.

“We will be going to the border post to take custody of the people.”

He said they are not ruling out the possibility of the figure growing beyond 6,000.

“Before we came here, the information we received from Niger is that about 2,000 Nigerians would be delivered to us, but now, see what we have on the ground.

“We are going to remain in Geidam as long as it takes to evacuate the people back to their respective states. Geidam is acting as a transit town and we have two camps, one at the stadium and the other at a primary school in the town,” he added.

Otegbade also revealed that the returnees were from 10 states of the federation – Taraba, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Kano.

ADVERTISEMENT

He said arrangements had been made to transport them to their respective states, stressing that already, contact had been made with the affected states’ emergency management agencies.

He explained that most of the returnees had been declared free of any health problem.

Otegbade however said three pregnant women in the first batch complained about minor health challenges and they were taken to health facilities in Geidam for medical attention.

Our correspondent observed that most of the deportees are fishermen, who left Nigeria for Niger to fish.

Some of them, who spoke to our correspondent, claimed that they were treated harshly by the Nigerien military.

One of them, Daniel Abba, said they hd to trek a long distance before they could get transport to Nigeria.

Another, a pregnant woman, Fatima Ali, said during the long trek, four pregnant women died.

She said there were many Nigerians, who would have loved to come back home still trapped in the area