Zulum Orders Closure of Borno’s Largest IDP Camp Within One Month

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has announced plans to close the Bama Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, the largest displacement camp in Borno State outside Maiduguri within the next month as part of ongoing efforts to complete the resettlement of communities affected by insurgency.

Zulum made the announcement on Thursday after personally supervising a screening exercise at the Government Science Secondary School IDP Camp in Bama, where displaced households are being verified ahead of their return to ancestral communities.

The governor spent more than three hours overseeing the exercise to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries are captured in the state’s resettlement programme.

“We are here to examine the remaining displaced people living in the camp with a view to ensuring the closure of Bama IDP Camp,” Zulum told journalists after the inspection.

According to him, the exercise forms part of the state government’s broader strategy to facilitate the safe, voluntary and dignified return of displaced families who fled their homes during years of Boko Haram insurgency.

Over the past seven years, the Borno State Government has successfully resettled residents in several communities across Bama Local Government Area, including Darajamal, Nguro Soye, Goniri, Banki and Abbaram.

Zulum disclosed that the screening of male heads of households has already been completed and that only a few communities remain to be resettled.

“We have three communities left to be resettled, Mayanti, Goniri and Bula Kuriye. By the next one month, the Bama IDP Camp, which is the largest camp in the state outside Maiduguri, will be closed,” he stated.

The governor said the closure would mark another milestone in the state’s efforts to restore normalcy to communities devastated by insurgency.

During the visit, Zulum also inspected ongoing construction projects, including a modern shopping complex and the dualisation of the Bama township road.

He commended the contractor handling the projects and described the developments as critical components of the state’s urban renewal programme.

The governor recalled that the Bama market was destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents about 15 years ago before being rehabilitated under the administration of former governor and current Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

According to him, his administration is constructing a modern shopping complex comprising 156 shops while undertaking a comprehensive remodelling of the market.

“We are trying to provide a befitting shopping mall in front of the market, totalling 156 shops, while also remodelling the market as part of our urban renewal programme,” he said.

Zulum noted that the project would stimulate economic activities, improve livelihoods and create a more conducive business environment for traders and investors.

He also revealed plans to decongest Bama through the dualisation of key roads, including the major route linking Maiduguri and Gwoza through Bama.

The governor further inspected teachers’ quarters and the High Islamic College in Konduga Local Government Area.