LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- The International Organization for Migration (IMO) has reported that more than 270 children were displaced after armed bandits attacked Gummi Local Government Area in Zamfara State.
The latest report has therefore raised fresh concerns over how insecurity is taking a heavy toll the displaced, particularly children across Nigeria’s North-West.
The findings are contained in Flash Report 291 on Population Displacement and the Displacement Tracking Matrix’s Transhumance Tracking Tool Dashboard 20, which assessed population movements across Katsina and Zamfara states.
It confirmed that no fewer than 271 children were among the 484 people displaced after bandits attacked Gamo Gidan Bita in Birnin Magaji Ward on June 15, 2026.
The victims reportedly later fled to Ubandawaki in Magaji Gari Ward in search of safety.
A total of 101 households were affected, with children accounting for well over half of the displaced population.
Women and girls were also heavily impacted, further highlighting the vulnerability of families caught in the violence.
Of the 484 displaced persons, 271 were children, while 129 were women and 84 were men.
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Overall, females accounted for 60 percent of those displaced, compared to 40 percent for males.
The assessment revealed that girls between the ages of six and 12 formed the largest female group among those displaced, making up 12 percent of the total population.
Women aged 18 to 59 represented 25 percent, while men within the same age range accounted for 16 percent. Infants under one year were also among those forced to flee.
Furthermore, the attack claimed five casualties, including three deaths and two injuries.
Following the incident, the IOM activated its Displacement Tracking Matrix on June 16 under its 72-hour emergency response protocol.
The organization linked the recurring violence in the North-West to long-standing disputes involving farmers, herders, ethnic groups and religious communities.
IOM identified food, emergency shelter and essential household supplies as the most urgent needs facing the displaced families, noting that every affected household required humanitarian assistance.
Notably, the latest figures add to the growing humanitarian crisis in northern Nigeria.
Between December 2025 and June 2026, more than 143,189 people were newly displaced across the North-West, bringing the region’s total internally displaced population to over 794,000.
Within the same period, at least 8,521 Nigerians reportedly fled insecurity in the North-West and North-East to neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad, according to an earlier analysis of the UNHCR Nigeria Forcibly Displaced Populations Dashboard.
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The report also highlighted the worsening security situation in Zamfara.
Data cited from Human Rights Watch, based on SBM Intelligence, showed that the state recorded 1,203 kidnapping incidents between July 2024 and June 2025, the highest in Nigeria.
Kaduna followed with 629 cases, while Katsina recorded 566. Nationwide, 4,722 kidnapping cases were documented during the same period.
Similarly, IOM data indicated that Zamfara’s internally displaced population rose to 279,224 in early 2026, representing an increase of 74,648 people from the previous reporting cycle.
In neighbouring Katsina State, separate attacks displaced 3,830 people from 517 households between May 21 and June 1.
Beyond insecurity, the IOM noted that environmental pressures continue to fuel tensions in the region.
Its Transhumance Tracking Tool recorded the movement of 388 herders with 10,572 livestock across Katsina and Zamfara in May 2026. The animals included 6,527 cattle, 2,205 sheep, 1,303 goats and 537 other livestock.
The agency identified Zamfara as the country’s third-largest destination for livestock migration during the period, receiving 1,528 animals, while the Kaduna–Zamfara route emerged as the busiest domestic migration corridor.
According to the IOM, desertification, climate change, declining rainfall and rapid population growth are intensifying competition for land and water, worsening conflicts that continue to expose thousands of children and families to displacement across Nigeria’s North-West.
