By OYEBOLA OWOLABI

A new transit camp to aid the rehabilitation and reintegration of migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) was opened at the weekend in Lagos State.

The camp is situated within the premises of the Lagos State Relief and Resettlement Camp in the Igando suburb of the state.

The transit centre has the capacity to accommodate 400 persons at once, to stay for between two to 12 nights.

It is funded by the European Union (EU), implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and will be managed by the State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, noted that the IOM and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFMRI), requested to use some of the facilities at the Relief Camp for the transit centre, while the IOM will provide services and upgrade existing facilities.

He hinted that plans were on to establish a third relief camp in the Ibeju-Lekki axis as part of measures to make the reintegration of migrants and IDPs easier.

The Federal Commissioner, NCFMRI, Hajia Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, described the transit centre as the first of its kind in sub-Sahara Africa, and as marking a new chapter in the care of the displaced.

She thanked the Lagos State government for being ‘a ready partner in the management of migration and helping Persons of Concern (PoC) to the Commission’.

“In addition to the laudable renovation done by IOM and a needs assessment, the Commission pledges to install two 5,000-litre water reservoirs to ensure continuous water supply to the hostels where our POCs would reside, as well as the installation of five solar-powered streetlights to ensure 24-hour visibility around the premises,” she added.

LASEMA’s Director-General Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said the transit centre would reinforce the IOM’s and Nigeria’s capacity to help the most vulnerable, as well as help to press home the message on the dangers of irregular migration. (The Nation)

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