The federal government has refuted claims that it plans to relocate repentant Boko Haram members and Internally Displaced Persons from the north to the southeast.

The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijani Ahmed, said this in Abuja on Tuesday while reacting to the attack on the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) centre at Ezeoko-Nsu in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.

Suspected arsonists burnt the centre and the residence of a former lawmaker, Senator Frank Ibezim.

The attack was carried out following a viral video that the federal government planned to renovate the NOUN facility as a training ground for repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

While setting the record straight, the Federal Commissioner said his visit to Imo State last month was to inspect a property located at the premises of the NOUN Centre in Ezeoke-Nsu in Ehime Mbano LGA for the establishment of a skills acquisition centre aimed at training persons of concern and youth from the five southeastern states.

He said: ?Our goal was to explore and ascertain whether the centre could be utilized to train returnee migrants, refugees, and displaced persons, such as victims of floods and communal clashes, as well as the youth and people of Imo State and the broader southeast region.

?Displaced persons are found throughout Nigeria, including those affected by floods and other crises in places like Orlu, Njaba, and Orsu areas of Imo State.

?Our primary aim was to train, certify, and empower the vulnerable populations of Imo State and the southeast with vital skills for self-reliance, with the potential to establish the centre as the regional headquarters for this initiative.?

He noted that similar skills acquisition centres are proposed to be established in the six geopolitical zones of the country to serve the populations in each respective zone, in line with the Commission?s ?Skills to Wealth? initiative and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

On why the southeast region needs a skill acquisition centre, Ahmed said: ?It is important to highlight that out of the over 6 million people facing displacement in Nigeria, a significant number reside in the southeast, where entire communities have been displaced due to ecological challenges such as erosion, landslides, and other forms of environmental degradation.

?In 2024 alone, the Commission facilitated the return of 4,550 stranded migrants, with no fewer than 30 per cent of them originating from the southeast.

?The region hosts approximately 500 non-Nigerian nationals currently seeking asylum as refugees in Nigeria. This group belongs to the subset of the population referred to as persons of concern to the Commission.?

He added that the proposed establishment of the skills acquisition centre was a humanitarian initiative designed to serve as a critical resource and provide training in areas such as vocational skills, entrepreneurship, and capacity building.

?These programmes will benefit displaced persons, returnee migrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups, irrespective of their political affiliation, ethnicity, or religious inclination within the southeast region.?

The Federal Commissioner also stated that the NCFRMI?s intervention in Imo State and the entire southeast has no political motives, adding that it does not intend to take IDPs from the northern part of the country to reside in the southeast.

The commission while condemning the attack, said it regrets the misrepresentation of information that led to the unrest and the destruction of properties by some unscrupulous elements.

?We strongly condemn the arson attack on the National Open University in Nsu Ehime Mbano. We sincerely express our deepest sympathy to the Executive Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the good people of Imo State over this tragic event. We equally appeal to all members of the affected community to remain calm and avoid any further acts of violence and destruction of their assets, as they all belong to them.? (The Nation)

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