LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-World Refugee Day is celebrated every 20th June. This year, attention was drawn to the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide.
Nigerians accounts for approximately 3% of the global displaced population.
The displacement in Nigeria is attributed to the ongoing conflict and insurgency in the northeast region, farmer-herder clashes and banditry in other areas and violence in neighboring Cameroon that led to the influx of refugees into Nigeria
In a report published by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are over 117.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
The data revealed that 68.3 million are internally displaced people, 37.6 million are refugees, 6.9 million are asylum-seekers, and 5.8 million are people in need of international protection.
Mass abduction and killings in Nigeria, particularly in the northern part of the country, have become significant threats to many lives, with over three million displaced.
Recall that out of 276 schoolgirls abducted in Borno State in April 2014, 98 are still in captivity. Some of the girls escaped while some were released after intense campaigning efforts by civil society organizations.
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In 2018, 110 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram fighters from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi town in Yobe state.
On March 3, 2024, suspected Boko Haram fighters stormed Babban Sansani, Zulum, and Arabic IDP camps in Gamboru Ngala, Borno state, abducting at least 400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), most of whom are women and children.
Voiceofnaija.ng reported that on March 7, 2024, at least 287 students and their teachers were abducted by gunmen in Kuriga, Kaduna state. The gunmen arrived at the school on motorcycles before seizing students and teachers and taking them into the bush.
“Given the rising level of insecurity in Nigeria today, it is obvious that protecting lives and property is low on the list of government priorities. People should not be left to live in fear of the next attack or abduction. The Nigerian authorities’ consistent failure to protect people is completely unacceptable and must end,” said Isa Sanusi of Amnesty International.
A UN report stated that currently, one in every 69 people has been living in exile for an average of 12 years, often in neighboring low- and middle-income countries. 47 percent are children, many of whom were born in exile.
At the end of 2023, an estimated 47 million (40 percent) of displaced people were children below 18 years of age.
UNHCR reports that almost 90,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from 40 countries have sought safety in Nigeria today. Most are from the Lake Chad Basin countries.
In May 2024, it was reported that Vice President H.E. Senator Kashim Shettima canvassed for a global partnership to end internally displaced people in the country at the unveiling of a program at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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The homegrown initiative was themed, “Launch of the State Action Plans on Durable Solution to Internal Displacement.”
“Over four million Nigerians remain in search of solutions to their forced displacement,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, adding that the state action plans “capture the first essential steps towards solutions.”
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Robert Piper commended the Federal Government for the program and sees it as a blueprint for other 15 countries facing similar challenges to consider.
Key Statistics
Over 2.3 million IDPs in Nigeria, according to a February 2023 report
More than 3.1 million IDPs in the country as of June 2022
85,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Nigeria, primarily from Cameroon
Nigerian refugees in neighboring countries like Chad, Cameroon, and Niger