Over 7,000 IDPs return to ancestral homes as OPHK restores normalcy in Borno says Maj Gen Abubakar
By Zagazola Makama
More than 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their ancestral communities across Borno State following improved security conditions created by sustained military operations under Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), the outgoing Theatre Commander, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, has said.
Abubakar disclosed this during his farewell and introduction engagement with humanitarian partners, representatives of the Borno State Government and members of the press in Maiduguri on Tuesday.
He said the return of the displaced families represented one of the clearest indicators of the progress recorded by the Theatre during his tenure as the 15th Theatre Commander of OPHK.
According to him, the fundamental mandate given to the Theatre was not merely to conduct military operations but to facilitate the restoration of normalcy in the North-East, allowing communities to recover and socio-economic activities to resume.
He explained that normalcy could be measured by the reopening of schools and markets, access to farmlands, restoration of essential services and, most importantly, the ability of families who had fled violence to return safely to their ancestral homes.
“Together, we have seen over 7,000 displaced families return to their ancestral communities and today, communities that were abandoned for years have been re-occupied, such that returned communities now exist in every Local Government Area of Borno State,” he said.
The development, he noted, marked a significant shift in communities that had remained largely deserted for years as a result of insurgency and the fear of attacks.
Abubakar said the return of the IDPs was made possible by the combined efforts of the military, the Borno State Government, humanitarian organisations, traditional institutions and local communities.
He stressed that the objective of military operations was ultimately to create a secure environment where civilians could reclaim their communities, rebuild their homes, cultivate their farms and restart their livelihoods.
The outgoing commander said the return of displaced families was supported by sustained counter-terrorism operations which degraded the capabilities of JAS and ISWAP across the Theatre.
Abubakar said the pressure generated by sustained military operations, combined with non-kinetic measures, had also contributed to a major wave of surrenders.
He disclosed that more than 969 JAS/ISWAP fighters and their family members surrendered within the last one year, creating another pathway through which affected communities could gradually move away from the cycle of violence.
The Theatre Commander said the restoration of security had produced visible changes in several communities across Borno.
He pointed to the reopening of trade routes and local markets, allowing residents to resume economic activities that had been disrupted by years of insurgency.
