UN Report Links Worsening Hunger to Bandit Recruitment in Northern Nigeria

A report from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has shed light on a disturbing trend in northern Nigeria, where communities are witnessing individuals joining armed groups and bandits primarily to secure food or a source of income. This development comes as the hunger crisis in the conflict-ridden northern regions reaches its most severe levels in a decade, compounded by escalating violence and dwindling humanitarian assistance.

The WFP disclosed that more than 17 million residents across nine northern states, all affected by ongoing conflicts, are currently experiencing critical stages of hunger, ranging from crisis to emergency and even catastrophic levels. Nigeria has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency in the northeast since 2009, which has seen a resurgence in violence since 2025. Furthermore, these jihadist activities are now extending into the northwest, a region already contending with a separate, yet overlapping, crisis posed by armed bandit gangs.

Kinday Samba, the WFP regional director for west and central Africa, expressed deep concern over the situation. In a statement, Samba remarked, “What concerns us most is how this crisis is expanding,” further noting that the pervasive violence is “across a much wider area and forcing people from farmland, driving displacement and restricting humanitarian access.”

The humanitarian landscape has also been affected by external factors, with aid cuts from the United States under former President Donald Trump and other Western nations impacting some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable households in recent years. Domestically, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported last month that poverty rates have climbed under President Bola Tinubu, whose series of economic reforms, while supported by economists, have also led to significant price increases.

As the conflict intensifies across the troubled northern parts of the country, the number of areas deemed too hazardous for WFP operations has likewise grown. The organization stated, “The number of inaccessible locations has doubled: a further 15 areas are now considered partially inaccessible for WFP’s frontline staff.” This situation is exacerbated by the limited government control beyond urban centers, leaving vast rural expanses vulnerable to attacks from armed groups.

“Nigeria’s food security crisis is worsening faster than previously anticipated,” the WFP reiterated, highlighting that “Conflict is driving hunger in some northern states, particularly the northeast, to levels not seen in almost a decade.” Specifically, in Borno State, the epicenter of the jihadist conflict, over three million people are categorised as “acutely food insecure,” with a staggering 10,000 individuals facing “catastrophic hunger.”