The Borno State government is to repatriate and resettlement the residents of Malam Fatiti, the headquarters of Abadam local government area of Borno State taking refuge in Niger Republic in May.
Governor, Babagana Zulum, who was an assessment visit to Mallam yesterday said “we want the people to return next month (May) for normal activities to return to this part of the state, insha’Allah. We will give all the necessary support to the Nigerian military to make sure that this objective is achieved, insha’Allah. We call on our people to be resilient and give maximum cooperation to the security operatives working to restore normalcy”.
The refugees are currently taking refuge in neighboring towns of Bosso, Tumur and Diffa, all in the Republic of Niger.
During his interaction with the commanding officer of 68 battalion, Malam-Fatori, Col. A. Onyeukwu, Zulum said “the main objective here is to see for myself the clearance exercise and discuss how we can return people. The town was displaced due to flood last year”.
Malam-Fatori is the headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area (LGA) in northern Borno, a former Boko Haram stronghold on the shores of the Lake Chad.is yet to be fully reoccupied by residents since Boko Haram violently took over the town around 2014 and forced residents to flee to Niger Republic.but the military later dislodged the insurgents and was not clear in what year.
The Governor Zulum had visited Malam-Fatori a couple of times, first to commence reconstruction and other times to supervise ongoing works., but during the recent visit, Zulum held interactions with troops at 68 battalion of the Nigerian Army in charge of the town who also lead the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the area.
Zulum also was received by the commanding officer of 68 battalion, Malam-Fatori, Col. A. Onyeukwu., also announced his approval for the soon to be released armoured personnel carriers (APCs), patrol vehicles and some security gadgets for soldiers to strengthen the military’s capacity to increase their effectiveness in the fight against insurgents.
He commended the officers and men of 68 Battalion, Malam-Fatori, for their bravery and professionalism in discharging in restoring and maintaining normalcy back to their Area of Responsibility (AOR).
Zulum was accompanied by the House of reps-elect for Marte, Monguno and Nganzai, Engr. Bukar Talba, Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele, Transition Council Chairman of Abadam and some prominent indigenes of Abadam.
