Advocacy Note on Protection Concerns related to the Closure of Camps in Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Borno State, North-East Nigeria

Internal displacement across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in Northeast Nigeria continues, reflecting years of conflict and ongoing insecurity. Borno State currently has 62 formal and 158 informal camps which host total of about 874,213 IDPs across the 17 LGAs. Adamawa State currently host 19,277 IDPs in 3 formal IDP camps and 22 informal IDP camps. In Yobe State, a total 19,451 IDPs are currently hosted in 19 informal IDP camps.
Amidst this ongoing crisis, the Borno State Government (BSG) continued its efforts to end displacement by closing camps and in so doing, closed all official Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri in early 2023 and announced plans to continue closing camps in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) and the informal camps within Maiduguri and Jere. The BSG had closed all official IDP camps in Maiduguri in early 2023 and announced plans to continue closing camps in the LGAs. 17 return locations, some of which are in areas designated as hard or extremely hard to reach for humanitarian partners due to insecurity, have been identified by the BSG as areas where the IDPs will be relocated to.

In an effort to begin the closure of camps within the LGAs the Governor of Borno State visited Monguno on 20-22 November 2023 and announced the closure of the Government Senior Science Secondary School (GSSS) camp. The GSSS Camp hosts 5,862 households consisting of 30,368 individuals from parts of Kukawa, Nganzai, Marte and Guzamala LGAs. Reportedly, the IDPs will be relocated to the 1,000-housing located along the Monguno-Maiduguri Road which is under construction by UNDP. IDPs who are from communities and villages that have attained relative security according to government assessment, will be returned to their areas of origin, particularly those from Kekeno, Mile 90 and Yoyo, towns in Monguno LGA. The Borno State Government has promised to provide a resettlement package to those that are willing to return to their ancestral lands. It remains unclear if those who do not return to their ancestral home will also benefit from the resettlement package.

This Advocacy Note, developed by the Protection Sector North-East Nigeria with inputs from key protection partners, serves to outline key facts and highlight protection concerns, as identified by a range of protection actors working with affected populations, in relation to the closures of camps in the LGAs. The Note also highlights protection concerns that are relevant to ensure sustainable solutions. It also provides recommendations for key stakeholders regarding the actions needed to ensure the rights of the affected population are upheld throughout the camp closures and relocation processes, in line with national, regional and international standards and in support of durable solutions.