Southern Cameroon crisis: 80% of refugees in camps in A’Ibom are Nigerians- Immigration chief

No fewer than 608 Cameroonian refugees scattered in three camps in Akwa Ibom were identified as bona-fide Nigerians who have lost their bearings with their ancestral family in Akwa Ibom State.

The Comptroller of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Akwa Ibom State command, Livingstone Amadi, confirmed that over 80 percent of Cameroonian refugees in the state are Nigerians of Akwa Ibom State extraction.

Amadi, who made the disclosure while interacting with our correspondent in Uyo, maintained that out of the 813 persons in the three refugee camps in the state, 608 are Nigerians returnees while only 208 are Cameroonians.

He said on assumption of duties as comptroller of Immigration service in the state last year, he was confronted with the influx of refugees in the state as a result of agitation for self autonomy by Southern Cameroonians.

He said:”On assumption of my duty here, we were confronted with this issue of Southern Cameroon agitation for self rule. The move is to secede from Cameroon Republic as we were told.

“So people in Southern Cameroon caught in the crisis started moving for safety of their lives. They started migration and the closest place to Southern Cameroon is Nigeria. In Nigeria, four states are affected, Akwa Ibom, Taraba, Benue and Cross River State with the highest number of refugees.”

Amadi further said he promptly alerted the Akwa Ibom State government and relevant government agencies of the presence of non Nigerians in the state.

He said the refugees who are currently camped at Oron, Eket and Mkpat Enim Local Government Areas of the state are supported by the state government, Non Government Organisations and the other donor agencies.

He disclosed that documentation and biometrics have been conducted in the three camps by the National Commission for Refugees (NCR) in conjunction with officials from United Nations High Commission on Refugees and forwarded to their headquarters for approval.

Amadi said after series of interviews and documentations it was discovered that most of the people in the camps seeking refugee status were Nigerians who have lived all their lives in Cameroon.

“There are Nigerians who were born in Cameroon. They have lost touch with were they come from. So with the crisis as the indigenes were running for their dear lives they also followed them. That is how they find themselves in these camps.

“They are not refugees but Nigerians who by right are back home. But because some of them were born and brought up there, most of them have lost their parents.

They don’t have bearing; even those who have bearing because of the situation they find themselves they are ashamed to go to their homes, so they decided to remain in the camp as refugees.

“We have documented them. They are separated from the real refugees. A few of them who can still identify their ancestral homes we make contacts with their relatives and release them to go,” Amadi said.

He commended the Comptroller General of ImmigrationService, Mr. Mohammad Babandede, whom he described as a very proactive officer who has changed the face of the service.

“The Comptroller General has reformed Immigration service, enhanced the welfare of the officers and men. Between January and now, he has promoted 6,000 officers while others were either converted or upgraded”.

Amadi disclosed further that the command now has a gunboat which is at Oron for effective marine border patrol just as officers have been trained on arms handling at Ibawa military facilities in the state.