Zamfara Banditry Forces 484 From Homes, IOM Highlights 271 Children Affected

A recent assessment by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has revealed that 484 individuals, including a significant number of 271 children, were displaced following an armed bandit assault on Gummi Local Government Area in Zamfara State on June 15, 2026. According to the IOM's findings, which Saturday PUNCH obtained, the attack uprooted 484 people belonging to 101 households, with more than half of those forced to flee being minors.

These figures are detailed in two IOM reports on Nigeria. They include Flash Report 291 on Population Displacement, dated June 25, and the Displacement Tracking Matrix’s Transhumance Tracking Tool Dashboard 20, which compiles field data from 33 monitoring points across Katsina and Zamfara states for May 2026. This latest wave of displacement contributes to the existing figure of over 143,189 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been dislodged from their residences across Nigeria's North-West region between December 2025 and June 2026, pushing the total displaced population in the area to more than 794,018.

In the same timeframe, an earlier analysis by Saturday PUNCH of the UNHCR Nigeria Forcibly Displaced Populations Dashboard indicated that at least 8,521 Nigerians sought refuge in neighbouring countries like Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, escaping insecurity in the North-West and North-East. The flash report further specified that the affected residents fled from Gamo Gidan Bita in Birnin Magaji Ward to Ubandawaki in Magaji Gari Ward after the June 15 incident. The IOM stated that its Displacement Tracking Matrix initiated a rapid assessment on June 16, just a day after the attack, adhering to its 72-hour early warning protocol.

The organisation characterised the attack as part of a persistent cycle of violence, which it attributes to “long-standing tensions between farmers and herders, as well as ethnic and religious groups” prevalent across the North-West. Of the 484 displaced individuals, 271 were children, 129 were women, and 84 were men. The report highlighted that females constituted 60 per cent of the displaced population, while males accounted for 40 per cent. An age breakdown by the IOM showed that girls aged six to 12 represented the largest female demographic, making up 12 per cent of all displaced persons, with women aged 18 to 59 comprising 25 per cent. Adult men within the same age group accounted for 16 per cent, and infants under one year were also among those displaced.

The attack resulted in five casualties: three fatalities and two injuries. Immediate necessities for the displaced, according to the report, include food, shelter, and non-food items, with all assessed households requiring assistance. The June 15 incident is the most recent in a series of bandit attacks that have plagued the North-West since 2011. What initially began as disputes between farmers and herders has escalated into organised armed criminality impacting Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Kebbi states.

Data from SBM Intelligence, cited by Human Rights Watch, indicates that Zamfara recorded the highest number of kidnapping incidents nationwide, with 1,203 cases between July 2024 and June 2025, followed by Kaduna with 629 and Katsina with 566. The report documented a total of 4,722 kidnapping cases across Nigeria during this period. By early 2026, Zamfara’s internally displaced population had surged to 279,224, marking an increase of 74,648 from the preceding reporting period. Additionally, separate IOM data revealed that attacks in neighbouring Katsina State displaced 3,830 people from 517 households between May 21 and June 1.

Meanwhile, the IOM’s Transhumance Tracking Tool Dashboard showed that 388 herders migrated with 10,572 livestock, comprising 6,527 cattle, 2,205 sheep, 1,303 goats, and 537 other animals, across Katsina and Zamfara states in May 2026. Zamfara was identified as the country’s third-largest destination for livestock migration during this period, receiving 1,528 animals, while the Kaduna–Zamfara corridor emerged as the busiest domestic transhumance route. The IOM attributes the escalating conflicts between farming and pastoral communities in the North-West to factors such as desertification, climate change, insufficient rainfall, and rapid population growth, which intensify competition for land and water resources. Attempts to get comments from Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or messages before this report was filed.