240,000 displaced Nigerians taking refuge in Lake Chad basin: official

Nearly 240,000 Nigerians are currently taking refuge in neighboring countries Cameroon, Chad and Niger -- three of the four Lake Chad basin countries that also includes Nigeria, an official said on Monday.

Sani Datti, spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said in a statement made available to Xinhua, the number of Nigerian refugees in the aforementioned countries has reached a total of 239,834.

The Nigerians fled their local communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe -- all states in the country's northeastern region, as a result of of the attacks by terror group Boko Haram, the official noted.

"The displaced Nigerians have received humanitarian support from the host governments, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), host communities and Nigerian citizens living in the three host countries," Datti stated.

According to him, a published report on humanitarian relief intervention by the NEMA showed that in 2015, about 29,581 Nigerians who fled their local communities had voluntarily returned home.

In May 2015, 13,046 Nigerian returnees from Niger Republic were received the northeastern state of Yobe, while between April and December 2015, Nigerian authorities received 15,595 returnees from Cameroon, he said.

"Some of the Nigerians that fled to the neighboring countries were provided with humanitarian relief support by the Federal Government of Nigeria through NEMA to alleviate their suffering," he added. Endit