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About 300 of the 2,061 Sierra Leonean refugees in Nigeria have opted for voluntary repatriation and are expected to go home soon, according to a senior Nigerian official.
Nigeria’s Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Professor Isaac Gabriel, told a news conference on 21 June that efforts were being made to help the refugees go back now that peace had returned to Sierra Leone.
"The National Commission for Refugees will collaborate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) branch office to repatriate the over 300 Sierra Leoneans that have indicated their willingness to go home," Gabriel said.
Asked why so few had volunteered to return, another official of the national commission said the others did not think the time was right.
Gabriel said there were 7,392 refugees in Nigeria at the end of last year. These included 3,194 Chadians, 1,645 Liberians, and smaller numbers from Sudan and Central Africa. Another 283 refugees had been granted asylum out of 479 who applied this year, he said, adding that more than 100 of those rejected had appealed and would soon have their cases reviewed by Nigeria's Refugee Appeal Board.
Gabriel also said his agency faced severe financial constraints in meeting the needs of refugees in Nigeria. He urged the Organisation of African Unity, the Economic Community of West African States and UNHCR to approach international donors jointly to discuss the low level of assistance given to African refugees.
"The wide disparity between the needs and financial assistance given to refugees in Africa as compared to what obtains in Europe and North America is, to say the least, disturbing," he said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
