A new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has revealed that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria has risen to 8.18 million, making the country the highest in West Africa.
In its June 2025 situation report released on Sunday, the UNHCR stated that Nigeria’s IDP count alone has surpassed that of Burkina Faso which has 3.58 million, Niger with 2.06 million, Mali at 931,000 and Cameroon which accounts for 1.42 million IDPs, with about 44 per cent of all persons displaced within their own borders.
The UNHCR which aggregates monthly returns from national emergency agencies says the June index include the International Organisation for Migration’s displacement-tracking matrix and partner NGOs operating across 14 West African states.
“Nigeria’s eight million IDPs excludes nomads in transit and unregistered city migrants, both considered large but unquantified shadows in the country’s humanitarian profile,” the report said.
Continuing, it said:
“Nigeria’s displaced population has ballooned since 2014, when Boko Haram attacks first desolated villages in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
“Over a decade later, the same insurgency, now splintered into rival factions, collides with banditry in Zamfara and Katsina, farmer–herder clashes in Benue and Plateau, and oil-bunkering violence in parts of the Delta.
“These overlapping crises have pushed fresh waves of families into informal host communities rather than purpose-built camps, complicating aid delivery and leaving many outside formal statistics.
“Across the wider Sahel, the drivers of the displacements are similar; jihadist offensives in Burkina Faso’s northern provinces, Islamic State expansion along Niger’s Tillabéri corridor, and livestock conflicts in Mali’s Mopti region.
“However, Nigeria’s number of IDPs has risen faster than any of its neighbours. This is attributed to the country’s sheer population density and the relative abundance of road networks that allow displaced households to keep moving in search of safety.
“Nigeria also acts as both haven and exporter of IDPs. It hosts roughly 223,000 refugees, mostly Cameroonians fleeing the Anglophone separatist war, yet an estimated 2.76 million Nigerians live as refugees or asylum-seekers abroad.
“Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons is the primary agency that manages asylum requests with oversight from the Nigerian Immigration Service, guided by UNHCR’s global frameworks,” the report added.
The post Nigeria’s IDPs now over 8 million, highest in West Africa —UN report appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
