Nigeria to resettle people displaced by Boko Haram

Nigeria is set to resettle, rehabilitate and reintegrate people displaced by Boko Haram attacks back in their homes and communities, a government spokesman said on Monday.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will on Tuesday flag off the process of reintegration by inaugurating a special committee to see to that, Odutayo Oluseyi, the spokesman appointed for the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE), told Xinhua news agency in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

Apart from being given the responsibility to rehabilitate and reintegrate the internally displaced persons, the committee has been partly set up to fast-track the government's plan for the affected communities, he said.

In collaboration with other relevant government agencies, the special committee will also assess the status and condition of liberated communities, assess and determine the immediate needs of the returnees and assess, recommend and implement modalities for the return of the refugees to their communities, the spokesman said.

Part of the Nigerian government's plan to fully reintegrate the returnees into society is to develop a comprehensive resettlement programme and facilitate the provision of adequate relief materials for them, he added.

Nigerian troops have routed Boko Haram fighters from different towns and communities in northeast Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in the last few weeks, thereby creating the opportunity for displaced persons to resettle in their comfort zones.

The government forces have also recovered several sophisticated weapons from the terrorists.