The Adamawa State government plans to deport more than 5,000 Almajiris roaming around the local government areas in the state.
As part of this directive, the state government has commenced the exercise with the deportation of 135 Almajiris to their families in other states of Northern Nigeria.
The first batch of 135 Almajiris had been transported to Gombe on board 11 Adamawa Sunshine buses under tight security, as part of the agreement reached by the Northern Governors Forum as regards the Almajiris.
The decision was meant to achieve two goals of protecting the vulnerable Almajiris amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 and to start the process that would end the system.
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Alhaji Bashiru Ahmad, chairman of the Adamawa COVID -19 Containment Committee and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), said the process was the initial phase of permanently ending the Almajiri system in the region.
He stressed that the state would no longer condone the system of Almajiri, even after the pandemic.
He maintained that the state also received Almajiris from other parts of the region, such as Gombe, Nasarawa and Kaduna states as part of government’s commitment towards repatriation.
The Almajiris, he said, would be properly rehabilitated and cared for by the state, adding that they had been quarantined for routine medical checks for Coronavirus.
