When everyone is homesick, Wajiga Zakariyau has no place to call home. As for families, they vanished when terrorists attacked his village in the Wasagu area of Kebbi State, North West Nigeria, forcing him to seek refuge in the Niger Republic. Zakariyau, 48, has an intriguing maxim of safe living: anywhere a man lays his head when night falls is home, those who come to his aid during trials are family.

His theory seems to have helped him navigate the rugged terrain of his newfound home in the Birnin Konni area of the Niger Republic. His life hangs in the balance, yet he believes only his Creator can restore it. Back in Wasagu, he was a farmer, tilling the soil to plant beans and millet. That life was taken away from him one night when terrorists invaded his farmland, burning it into dust for refusing to pay them a protection levy.

Sometime in 2022, his entire family was wiped out when terrorists raided his village. He was away at the time, and upon his return, he found his wife and only child dead. He longed to mourn them and pay his last respects, but the following day, the terrorists returned to dislodge the village, leaving it a ghost town.

“I moved to Niger since then, going from one place to another,” he told HumAngle. His words were short but deep. “I have not had peace of mind since I left home. But I also don’t want to go back home because of the insecurity and the fact that I have nothing left.”

Zakariyau spoke briefly, but his experience encompasses the challenges facing Nigerian refugees in neighbouring African countries. As the persistent insurgency has driven locals to flee their volatile communities in northeastern Nigeria to countries like Chad, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic, rural terrorism ravaging the North West has also forced thousands of affected people to relocate to neighbouring countries.

The spate of armed violence is high in different regions of Nigeria. However, many of these neighbouring countries have homegrown crises to tackle, with Nigerian refugees compounding the displacement problems facing their hosts.  In October 2024, for instance, thousands of Nigerian refugees in neighbouring countries such as Chad, Niger Republic and Mali begged government authorities to honour their promise of repatriating them to their ancestral hometowns. 

For years, refugees in the three neighbouring countries have been eagerly awaiting repatriation, having fled their homes in Borno State to escape the relentless and brutal attacks by the extremist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Many refugees were from Borno, the epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency. When their homes were taken away from them by the insurgents, the locals hoped they could start all over again in a foreign country nearby. They crossed the border to resettle in countries like Chad, Cameroon and the Niger Republic.

The Borno State government has frequently promised to bring them home but has often failed. Sugun Mai Mele, the Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs and a member of the state committee responsible for repatriating refugees from nearby countries, recently asserted that all necessary measures are established to repatriate Nigerian refugees successfully.

“The Borno State government has already put in place strict security measures – particularly in the Abadam Local Government Area. The security situation has improved, so it is no longer the problem it has been in past years. The military and other security operatives are working hard to ensure the safety of citizens, and there is lasting peace,” he said. “The state government has not forgotten the refugees who are taking refuge at various camps in Chad, Cameroon and the Niger Republic. It is aware of their plight and their living conditions.”

The official noted that the major challenge affecting the repatriation processes was climate-related issues like rainfall, adding that overflowing rivers in the Lake Chad region have destroyed many routes, making many towns between Nigeria, the Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon inaccessible.

“For example, the Maiduguri-Dikwa highway was cut off by the massive flood that occurred on September 10, 2024. This is the main highway linking Nigeria to Chad. The state government cannot risk the lives of refugees and officials. The highway is muddy, and there have been instances of insecurity. It is not safe yet,” he added.

Mele expressed worries over the terrible conditions of starving refugees who also do not have clean water and lack necessities. “Despite the bad roads, worsened by the heavy rains we have experienced, the state government is struggling hard to provide humanitarian aid, including food and non-food items, to all refugees,” he lamented. “We even considered using a helicopter to deliver aid, but we realised that a chopper could not carry the large quantity of food and non-food items needed by the refugees.”

‘No place like home’

Except for people like Zakariyau, who said they had nothing left to return to, many refugees would like to return to Nigeria. Experts say refugees displaced by conflicts will always want to return because of the connections and bonds in their bases. 

“Behind each number (of refugees) is a person just like any of us – a family who wants to live without fear, a child who wants to play with her friends, a mother who is worried her children are not eating well, a father who is looking for a job and to live in dignity. And they all share a common dream – that one day they will be able to return home safely,” said Arjun Jain, an Abuja-based security and conflict analyst.

The analyst’s statement manifested during the repatriation of thousands of Nigerian refugees who fled to Chad over a decade ago to escape insurgency in the country’s North-East. 

Abdullahi Ibrahim Umar, spokesman for the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, claimed around 3,600 refugees arrived in Maiduguri, the regional capital, aboard trucks from the Chadian town of Baga Sola, where they had been living since 2014.

The Borno government had partnered with Chad to bring back the refugees following a repatriation agreement signed last week in Chad’s Lac province. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) emphasised that all returns would be voluntary and conducted “in a manner that upholds their fundamental rights and dignity.

Under the agreement, a total of 7,790 refugees who have expressed a willingness to return were repatriated, Umar said. Borno authorities have set up a temporary camp to accommodate the returnees before they are sent back to their communities after undergoing screening. “Their stay in the camp is only for a short period as the government will resettle them in their respective homes as soon as the necessary processes are completed,” the spokesman noted.

The northeastern region of Nigeria has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2009, resulting in a devastating toll of at least 40,000 lives lost and approximately two million people displaced. This has led to a massive influx of refugees into neighbouring countries, with over 342,000 Nigerians seeking refuge in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, according to a 2024 UNHCR report. 

Niger is hosting around 200,000 Nigerian refugees. Although military efforts have led to a significant decrease in terror attacks, the region remains volatile, with sporadic raids and assaults on military bases still occurring. To address the displacement crisis, authorities in Borno have closed most of the displacement camps, opting to resettle people in their hometowns despite lingering security concerns.

However, many returnees said the journey home is filled with relief and apprehension.

“I’m happy I’m returning to my home 11 years after I was forced to leave,” Abdullahi Sani Dansalama told journalists at the Gubio camp in Maiduguri, where he is currently staying.

Dansalama had fled his home in the fishing town of Doron Baga on the shores of Lake Chad but has now returned home. Although he admitted lingering security risks, he remains hopeful that his life is safer in Nigeria, his home country. “We know there are still some security challenges, but we are willing to return and rebuild our lives because there is no place like home,” he said.

Home isn’t safe yet

While many refugees are homesick, their homes are unsafe, putting them at risk of regretting their decision to return to Nigeria. In northwestern Nigeria, where Zakariyau was forced to cross the border, rural terrorists, known as bandits, still thrive, killing and kidnapping for ransom. And, in Borno, thousands of displaced people are put in harm’s way after the state returns them to their unsafe bases.

HumAngle had reported how the closure of the displacement camps had a devastating impact on the already vulnerable displaced persons in Borno, plunging many into even greater depths of poverty and desperation. As a result, numerous individuals are now struggling to access necessities like food, shelter, and essential services, exacerbating their humanitarian crisis, and leaving them on the brink of destitution.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), displaced people who had been forced to relocate from Bakassi Camp back to their insecure home community in Bama outside Maiduguri moved into low-income communities in various parts of Maiduguri or informal camps in the city.

“Many displaced people in Maiduguri said they suffered severe hunger after agencies including the World Food Programme and the Borno State Emergency Management Authority stopped providing monthly food rations and cash transfers for food,” HRW stated in a report.