The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that an estimated 1,134,828 from 251,082 households are internally displaced in Nigeria.
A report by the bureau stated that Borno state recorded the highest number of displaced households, with 206,753, while 877,299 were internally displaced, representing 77.3 per cent of the entire surveyed population.
It stated that the survey was conducted in 2023 across seven states of Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, Benue and Nasarawa.
“The findings show that Boko Haram insurgency reported 81.2 per cent, farmers/herders clash (16.2 per cent), banditry/kidnapping (1.6 per cent) as the major sources of displacements. This indicates that the displacement of persons is more human-induced than flooding or any other form of natural disaster”.
It explained that internal displacement of persons is the forced movement of people within their own country due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or other crises, without crossing international borders.
It said this constitutes one of the most pressing humanitarian crises in Nigeria as the displacement is induced by a combination of factors such as Boko Haram insurgency in the North East region, Banditry/kidnapping in the North West region, armed conflict, and communal clashes in other parts of the country.
“Further analysis reveals that out of the total population of surveyed IDPs, 50.3 per cent were mainly minors and below the age of 18 years. Only 49.7 per cent were within the age of 18 years and above. However, it was observed that 83.4 per cent of persons have been displaced over four (4) years”.
