In Nigeria, ex-refugees find themselves in a war zone

ABDULHAMID Mohammed fled his home in northeast Nigeria in 2015, chased into neighbouring Chad by jihadists who torched homes and shot civilians in his lakeside village.

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A decade later, little has changed in the fishing community of Doron Baga - though that didn't stop the government from trying to send him back there earlier this year.

As jihadist violence has ticked down from its peak a decade ago, Nigeria has closed down most displacement camps on its own soil and repatriated refugees living abroad, in an effort to repopulate the countryside and restore "dignity" for people driven from their homes.

A deal struck in February between Nigeria, Chad and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, saw nearly 8 000 refugees return voluntarily to Nigeria.

But many like Mohammed are considering returning to life as a refugee.

The 40-year-old fisherman came home only to find parts of Lake Chad were still under jihadist control.

"You can't go there," he said in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, where he is now living.

"I have the intention to go back to Chad, because in Chad ... I can continue catching fish."

In May, an attack in a village just 10km away from Doron Baga, left 17 farmers and fishermen dead.

"There's nothing left in my hometown," said Mohammed Abubakar, 46, another ex-refugee from Doron Baga.