Gwoza Community Seeks Security Guarantees For Residents, IDP Camps

A group of concerned natives of Gwoza local government area of Borno State has called on the federal government to provide security guarantees and address the plight of displaced persons, refugees and abducted relatives who have suffered since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2013.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday in Abuja, spokesperson of the Concerned Gwoza Citizens, Dr. Ayuba John Bassa, urged the federal government and all relevant agencies to act without further delay to restore dignity, deliver justice and provide durable solutions for the displaced people of Gwoza.

He appealed to President Bola Tinubu: “Hear our cry. Restore our homes. Restore our children. Restore our dignity. Release the resources budgeted for this cause to ensure transparency, repatriation, and resettlement.”

Bassa urged Tinubu to deliver justice to those unlawfully detained and the families still waiting for their loved ones.

According to Dr. Bassa, since 2013, many people from Gwoza have been forced to flee due to Boko Haram attacks and are currently displaced across Nigeria and Cameroon. The Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon is hosting 58,327 refugees.

He further said the total, 91,007 IDPs and refugees were documented, with over 50,000 more displaced persons currently living with relatives across the country—where prolonged displacement had become a burden and a source of vulnerability.

Dr. Bassa lamented that 550 refugees in Cameroonian camps were now effectively abandoned. Many who attempted to return to Nigeria on foot have died or suffered extreme hardship, facing human rights and protection concerns along the way.

He further noted that displaced persons from Gwoza lack access to political rights, employment, and adequate health care, and are effectively disenfranchised.

During the crisis, 17 children whose parents were allegedly abducted by a civilian JTF and handed over to the military on July 30, 2013, remain separated from their families, he said.”

He highlighted that among the missing is the former vice chairman of Gwoza local government, Hon. Musa Bukar Barawa.

He called for transformative justice measures that prioritize survival, safety, healing, agency, and accountability.