Abuja/Maiduguri — The Nigerian government has ordered displaced people to return to an unsafe area as pressure mounts to show progress in the war against Islamist groups ahead of a presidential election, according to sources familiar with the situation. Those who have gone back say they only did so because the officials told them they would get no more aid if they remained in refugee camps. Returnees say their home area of Guzamala in the northeast is not safe and they cannot earn a living there. At issue is the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general who won power in 2015 on a promise to restore security to the northeast and end the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency, now in its 10th year. Western diplomats and aid officials have expressed concern that sending thousands of displaced people back to their home regions is part of Buhari’s political agenda and that of the governing party as local elections are also being held.
"Pushing these people back just to m...
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