Northwest IDPs Near 800,000 Mark – UNHCR
The forcibly displaced population across Nigeria’s Northwest geopolitical zone has climbed by 143,189 persons in just six months, marking a 22 percent surge that exposes the deepening humanitarian fallout from banditry and armed violence in the region.
Fresh figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Nigeria Forcibly Displaced Populations dashboard, published in late May 2026, place the zone’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) population at 793,534, up sharply from 650,345 recorded in December 2025.
The dashboard is jointly produced by UNHCR and the Federal Government through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons. It draws on registration records, biometric enrolment data, and field assessments across hosting states, with additional inputs from the Nigeria Immigration Service, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Displacement Tracking Matrix.
Sokoto State posted the steepest rise. Its IDP population more than doubled between February and March 2026, climbing from 88,562 to 181,526, an addition of 92,964 persons or a 105 percent jump in a single month.
Zamfara State, long ravaged by banditry, added 74,648 IDPs over the same window, with its count rising from 204,576 to 279,224, a 36.5 percent increase. Together, the two states account for the overwhelming bulk of the regional surge.
Kaduna recorded a more modest rise of 4,653 displaced persons, from 110,813 to 115,466. Katsina, historically among the worst-hit, bucked the trend with its IDP population dropping from 235,898 to 206,071, a 12.6 percent reduction.
Cross-border displacement also widened. Nigerian refugees from the Northwest registered in neighbouring Niger Republic grew from 258,359 in December 2025 to 268,967 in May 2026, an increase of 10,608.
Nationwide, Nigeria’s total IDP population stood at 3,711,314 as of May 2026, representing 3.5 percent of the world’s 117 million forcibly displaced persons, according to UNHCR.
Banditry and communal violence across Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara have displaced nearly 1.4 million people, 80 percent of whom are sheltering within host communities rather than formal camps. By February 2025, over 580,000 persons, the majority of them women, had already fled their homes across Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The displacement surge tracks closely with escalating violence. In the first half of 2025 alone, at least 2,266 people were killed by insurgents or bandits, exceeding the entire 2024 casualty figure. A broader audit covering two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration recorded at least 10,217 deaths from armed group attacks across Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
The threat landscape has also widened. Lakurawa, a newer armed group affiliated with the Islamic State Sahel Province and operating across Nigeria, Niger, and Mali, has compounded insecurity in the Northwest and North Central. On July 1, 2025, suspected Lakurawa fighters raided Kwallajiya in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing between 15 and 17 worshippers preparing for afternoon prayers.
Between April 23 and 24, 2026, bandits struck the communities of Kurfan Danya, Faransi, and Mai Zogo in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara, as well as Keta in Tsafe Local Government Area.
The Federal Government, working through the Northwest Governors’ Forum and with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), formally launched the State-Level Adoption of the National Policy on IDPs and corresponding State Action Plans on Durable Solutions for Katsina and Zamfara on February 16, 2026. The IOM has also extended its humanitarian footprint beyond the Northeast to cover Katsina and Zamfara.
In his third-anniversary broadcast on May 29, President Tinubu acknowledged persistent security challenges while insisting that progress was being recorded. “Our Armed Forces and security agencies have intensified operations against terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, oil thieves, and criminal networks. While challenges remain, many communities and highways are becoming safer and more economically active,” he said. “I want to assure you that this government will not relent until every Nigerian can live, work, travel, and dream in safety.”
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, could not be reached for comment, as calls and a text message sent to his mobile line went unanswered at the time of filing this report.
Northwest IDPs, UNHCR Nigeria, Sokoto displacement, Zamfara banditry, Nigeria insecurity, Lakurawa, Tinubu administration, forcibly displaced persons, Katsina violence, NCFRMI