North-West Insecurity Drives Over 8,500 Nigerians to Seek Refuge in Neighbouring Countries

The ongoing insecurity challenges in the North-West and North-East regions of Nigeria have led to a significant increase in the number of Nigerians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. According to data from the UNHCR Nigeria Forcibly Displaced Populations dashboard, between December 2025 and May 2026, at least 8,521 Nigerians fled to Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. This development brings the total number of registered Nigerian refugees in these countries to 416,184.

The data, which was jointly produced by the UN refugee agency, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the International Organisation for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, indicates a net increase in the number of refugees across the three countries during the period under review. Niger Republic recorded the highest surge, with its refugee count rising from 258,359 in December 2025 to 268,967 in May 2026, representing an increase of 10,608 persons in six months.

Within the same period, the number of Internally Displaced Persons in Sokoto State more than doubled from 88,562 to 181,526. Cameroon currently hosts 125,192 Nigerian refugees, primarily in its Far North Region and around the Minawao refugee camp, while Chad hosts 22,025, concentrated in the Lac Province around Baga Sola and Ngala. The UNHCR Nigerian Refugees and Repatriation Overview reveals that most of the displaced populations in all three countries originated from Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, which have been the principal theatres of operations for Boko Haram and ISWAP since 2009.

In Niger Republic, the majority of the refugees are settled in the Diffa region near the Nigerian border, scattered across an estimated 135 makeshift encampments along 200 kilometres of Route National 1, the highway that runs parallel to the Komadougou River and the Nigerian border. Key border towns receiving Nigerian refugees include Kuluk, Gashua, Machina, and Malkotan. The data shows that the recent surge in exodus to Niger coincides with rising insecurity in Sokoto and Zamfara.

In the first half of 2025, at least 2,266 people were killed by insurgents or bandits, surpassing the total number of casualties for all of 2024. A broader count covering two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration showed that at least 10,217 people were killed in attacks by armed groups in Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. In 2025, Lakurawa, a new armed group with cross-border operations into Niger and Mali, further compounded the insecurity challenge in the North-West and North-Central.

In the Diffa region, which has been under a state of emergency since 2015, ISWAP continues to operate with relative freedom. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network projected Crisis food insecurity outcomes for Diffa through May 2026, driven directly by ongoing armed conflict. Among the displaced populations sheltering in the region, 63 per cent have insufficient access to food, and 43 per cent lack adequate access to water.

The UNHCR’s repatriation overview also revealed that at least 37,911 Nigerians have returned home from all three countries since 2019. In 2025 alone, 26,775 returned, including more than 17,000 bilaterally repatriated from Niger by the Federal Government between April and November 2025, and over 7,000 from Chad following the finalisation of a tripartite agreement in 2025. In 2026, 3,510 have returned by April, all to Borno State.

However, the report showed that voluntary return remains slow. In December 2025, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, visited the Minawao camp and declared a cash pledge of N500,000 per returning household. So far, only 3,122 of more than 50,000 refugees at the camp have agreed to return. A separate UNHCR survey found that only 32 per cent, about 23,000, of all surveyed refugees across the three countries expressed intention to return.

As of this report, there is no formal tripartite repatriation framework for the Republic of Niger, which hosts the largest concentration of Nigerian refugees. According to the February 2026 dashboard, a draft agreement between Nigeria, Niger, and UNHCR is pending review. The Federal Government, through the North-West Governors’ Forum and with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme, officially launched State-Level Adoption of the National Policy on IDPs and corresponding State Action Plans on Durable Solutions for Katsina and Zamfara on February 16, 2026.

The IOM also expanded its humanitarian programme beyond the Northeast to include Northwest states, specifically Katsina and Zamfara, to address underserved areas. In his third-anniversary address to Nigerians on May 29, President Bola Tinubu acknowledged that insecurity challenges persisted, but insisted that progress was being made across the country. He said, 'Our Armed Forces and security agencies have intensified operations against terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, oil thieves, and criminal networks. While challenges remain, many communities and highways are becoming safer and more economically active.'