Nigeria, Feb. 9 -- Many persons displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State were left in fresh anguish last week as the state government demolished houses many of them had occupied for over 10 years.

The IDPs thought they had permanently resettled in the properties until the government sent equipment to pull down the houses, citing illegal land ownership and offering no compensation.

The government demolished the houses to expand the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, which was recently upgraded by the federal government to offer international flights. The demolition exercise affected more than 100 houses.

The state government accused the owners of trespassing into the airport's reserved area. It said it had...