Borno Governor Babagana Zulum has directed the closure of the Bama IDP camp after raising concerns over criminal activities, insurgent infiltration and irregular registrations
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has directed the immediate closure of the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Bama Local Government Area, saying the facility has become vulnerable to criminal activities and the infiltration of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) members.
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The governor announced the decision on Thursday during an assessment visit to the Government Secondary School IDP camp in Gwoza, where he said a similar exercise would be carried out within the next two to three weeks following the completion of profiling and screening of displaced residents.
Addressing the camp’s occupants, Zulum said authorities had concluded screening exercises in Bama ahead of the closure.
“We visited Bama yesterday and supervised the screening of IDPs, and by 12 noon today, the Bama IDP camp should be closed.
“Today we are here in Gwoza, we have profiled all of them, and Insha Allah, in the next two or three weeks, this camp will also be closed,” he said.
The governor explained that the decision was informed by intelligence and findings from the screening process, which uncovered growing security concerns within the camps.
“In our camps now, there is ongoing criminality. We have identified all of them, and they will be resettled based on their localities and to their community heads. Otherwise, Boko Haram and ISWAP are gradually infiltrating the camps,” Zulum said.
He also expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend of residents returning to displacement camps despite living in their communities, allegedly to access humanitarian assistance provided by non-governmental organisations.
According to him, the government identified a significant number of people who were not genuinely displaced but had returned to the camps to benefit from relief materials.
“We will ensure the returns are sustainable. One year ago, this was almost a ghost camp with not more than about 400 households. It is surprising that about 3,000 households are back in the camp, and most of them are residents living within the town,” he added.
Borno State has gradually been shutting down formal IDP camps as security improves in communities previously affected by insurgency.
The policy forms part of the state government’s broader resettlement strategy aimed at helping displaced families return to their ancestral homes while rebuilding local communities.
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The latest directive comes amid ongoing efforts by the state government to balance humanitarian support with long-term security and sustainable reintegration for people displaced by more than a decade of insurgency in the North-East.
