The decision by Nigeria’s Borno State government to shut down its camps for people displaced by the Boko Haram conflict has pushed over 200,000 people into deeper suffering and destitution, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The people affected by camp closures are also living in worse accommodations than they had in the camps. While in the camps, many had lived in tarpaulin tents set up by humanitarian organizations or occupied single rooms in houses built on the premises before they became camp sites.
From May 2021 to August 2022, Borno State authorities had compelled over 140,000 people to evacuate eight camps in the state capital, Maiduguri. Two other camps are also set to be closed this year, Muna Badawi and 400 Housing Estate (Gubio) Camp, housing a combined total of nearly 74,000 people.
