The Federal Government has disclosed that not less than 400,000 Nigerian refugees currently reside in Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon. The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Tijani Ahmed, disclosed this in Abuja during a Technical Working Group meeting. Ahmed explained that the meeting was summoned to ascertain what had been done earlier, what the committee intends, and to evaluate areas to seek government’s intervention. He added that the committee would explore areas to involve other key stakeholders like international partners. He said: “We are here to discuss the repatriation of Nigerians living in Cameroon and Chad, where we have a tripartite agreement signed by the government of Chad, Nigeria and UNHCR. Last week, we were in Chad where repatriation has taken place and we are hoping that the repatriation will continue in Chad. “We summoned the technical working group meeting, which is a sub-committee responsible for the repatriation of Nigerians back to the country to discuss ways and means that we will use to ensure that Nigerian refugees return to Nigeria. “As it is today, we have not less than about 400,000 refugees across the zones of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. “3,000 were returned last week Sunday through the efforts of the governor of Borno, and the technical working group wants to take off from there because the tripartite agreement has already been signed between Nigeria and Chad. “We have reviewed the processes to consider what is required of us before the continuation of this repatriation. We will also resume the repatriation of those in Cameroon soon. So, we hope that repatriation will come to stay in the next few weeks and will continue the exercise.” The Deputy Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Nigeria, Bernadette Muteshi, said the UNHCR was committed to ensuring the agreement signed by both countries is adhered to. She said: “We are leaning greatly on the governments responsible for leadership and ownership of the process. We are here to walk along with both governments to ensure that the contents of the tripartite agreement are followed and adhered to. Honestly, it’s really about both governments taking leadership and ownership for their nationals in this particular exercise.”