UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for the safe and “dignified” repatriation of individuals displaced by Nigeria’s terrorist insurgency, as local authorities dismantle camps and urge people to return to their towns.

Over a decade of conflict in the country’s northeast between the military and Boko Haram and its spinoff Islamic State West Africa Province has killed over 40,000 people and displaced over 2.2 million (ISWAP).

During a visit to a displaced people’s camp in Maiduguri, Guterres lauded the local governor’s development initiatives in Borno State, the epicentre of the war since 2009.

Nigerian authorities intend to shut all displaced persons camps in Borno by 2026, but humanitarian organisations are concerned about security and circumstances in some of the areas to which they will return.

“Let’s do what we have to do about humanitarian support to these camps, “Guterres added.

“But let’s try to find a solution for people, and that solution is to create the conditions, security conditions, development conditions for them to be able to go back home in safety and dignity.“

Nigerian officials claim that they only return people to safe regions in order to encourage the restart of cultivation and wean people off humanitarian aid.

Guterres also paid a visit to a rehabilitation camp for former Islamist combatants, where he urged for additional funding to help them reintegrate into society.

In recent months, many of Boko Haram militants and their families have surrendered.

“I was amazed to see today in the centre [that] those that have been terrorists, they want to integrate in the society and contribute to society. And the policy that is in place here is a policy of reconciliation,” he stated.

In the morning, Guterres spoke with displaced individuals and refugees in western Niger before travelling to Nigeria.

On Wednesday, his regional tour would come to a close.

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