01.2007 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Maiduguri: In February religious riots spread to Bauchi and Anambra states and displaced thousands ("World Report 2007") [ID 18974]

"In February more than 100 people were killed and thousands displaced in a wave of interconnected religious riots that began in the northeastern city of Maiduguri and spread to Bauchi and Anambra states."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Data on internal displacement is scarce, there are no accurate estimates of the current number of IDPs ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 17978]

"Ethno-religious conflict is endemic in Nigeria, with at least 14,000 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since military rule ended in 1999. Since internal dis-placement in Nigeria is often short-term, and most IDPs seek refuge with host fami-lies, data on the scope of the problem is scarce and no accurate estimates of the current number of IDPs exist."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Sectarian and ehtnic violence create sizeable and fluctuating internally displaced population ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 17980]

"With a population of about 130 million and more than 250 ethnic groups, Nige-ria is Africa’s most populous nation – with a multitude of religious, ethnic and political fault lines that periodically erupt into communal violence. This has created a sizeable, albeit fluctuating in-ternally displaced population – particu-larly since a return to democratic rule with the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 opened up new oppor-tunities for people to express their griev-ances and new areas of conflict were created by the competition for political spoils."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

In February 2006 50,000 people were displaced, 150 killed in a wave of sectarian violence across various states, sparked by protests over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 17984]

"The volatility of underlying tensions was amply demonstrated when in February 2006 as many as 50,000 people were displaced and about 150 killed in a wave of sectarian violence across various Ni-gerian states, sparked by protests over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad (NRCS, February 2006). The majority of deaths occurred in the mainly Christian southeast city of Onitsha, where groups of armed youths attacked Muslim Hausa-speakers from the north in revenge for Christian Igbos killed some days earlier in the north of the country. Spiralling violence spread across at least six states, with thousands of IDPs taking refuge mainly in police and army barracks or churches – although many later returned to their homes (BBC, 24 February 2006)."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Number of IDPs undetermined due to lack of systematic registration; majority of IDPs seeks refuge with family, host communities or in major towns ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 18027]

"Complex movement patterns combined with the overwhelming lack of data in Nigeria makes the issue of numbers of IDPs very problematic. There has been no systematic registration or verification of numbers of IDPs and figures are often “grossly misleading,” according to Zanna Muhammed, deputy director of the National Emergency Management Agency (IDMC interview, Abuja, 6 December 2004). According to Moremi Soyinka-Onijala, Special Assistant to the Nigerian President on Migration and Humanitarian Affairs, estimates on the number of IDPs in Nigeria varied from 500,000 to millions (Brookings, April 2006, p5). The 2005 UN Humanitarian Appeal (CAP) for West Africa put the total number of IDPs in Nigeria at 200,000 (as of November 2004) – although this too must be based on guesswork (UN, 11 November 2004). It is therefore safe to say there is an undetermined number of IDPs in Nigeria. The vast majority of displaced people in Nigeria seek refuge with family, friends or host communities where their ethnic group is in the majority. Others seek shelter in major towns. Many appear to return to their homes or resettle in the proximity of their home areas soon after the violence has subsided, but an unknown number also resettle in other areas of the country. It is therefore difficult to distinguish between movements of people forced to flee by violence and those moving for economic reasons."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Humanitarian assistance to IDPs affected by the 2004 Plateau state crisis stopped as soon as the crisis died down ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 18031]

"During the 2004 Plateau state crisis thousands of IDPs received emergency food aid, shelter, medical treatment and water/sanitation from a variety of sources, many of them in camps estab-lished in neighbouring Bauchi and Nassarawa states. But once the immediate crisis died down, humanitarian assistance particularly to IDPs attempting to return to areas affected by the fighting – such as the town of Yelwa – was virtually non-existent. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was the only relief agency present in the area, providing basic health services as well as trauma counselling. Many people witnessed relatives being mutilated and killed, and hundreds of mainly women and girls were abducted. Some were raped, although this was not well documented. Many were visibly suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome (GIDPP, February 2005). Then, less than one year later, the IDP camps were officially closed and the displaced either returned to their home areas in Plateau state or resettled with relatives – spontaneously or as part of official resettlement programmes, particularly in Bauchi state. However, reports from the town of Yelwa, which was largely destroyed in the fighting, indicated that many IDPs were returning to a dire lack of basic services and without the means to start rebuilding their homes. In many cases, incidents of vandalism, burning and looting reportedly took place several weeks after the initial violence precisely in order to deter returning IDPs. This is by no means unprecedented. During the devastating communal violence in the Plateau state capital Jos in 2001, whole villages were razed to the ground (OMCT, 2002, p19), and farmers fleeing the violence in other central region states in 2001 saw their crops ruined and other properties damaged. As part of the strategy to retaliate for the killings of soldiers in Benue state in 2001, government troops were reported to have “regularly plundered” abandoned farms (HRW, April 2002, p14). In October 2002 it was reported that as many as 90 per cent of the 60,000 inhabitants of Odi town in Bayelsa state were still living in temporary structures, having found their original homes destroyed after being displaced in 1999 (OMCT, 2002, p80)."

Document(s): Open document

21.09.2006 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Support to IDPs by National Emergency Management Agency constrained by lack of experience ("Heightened risk of violence and displacement ahead of 2007 elections") [ID 18032]

"The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), established in 1999, is responsible for overall disaster management in Nigeria – including the coordination of emergency relief operations as well as assisting in the rehabilitation of the victims where necessary. It has presence in most states and often supports IDPs in the emergency phase of a crisis, but it does not have the necessary resources to assist people displaced for a longer period of time, or to assist returnees to reintegrate. State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) also exist in some states, but with varying performance levels. The national response is generally constrained by lack of experience in dealing with IDP issues, which has resulted in inefficiencies and support gaps to affected populations, but also by competing mandates. Confusion exists at the federal level over who has the mandate to respond to and assist IDPs – especially between NEMA and the National Commission for Refugees (NCR, informally mandated in 2002 to also cover IDPs) – which results in competition for resources. Such tension and competition has been partly responsible for hindering the drafting of a national IDP policy, which has been in the pipeline since the creation of the Nigerian Presidential Committee on IDPs in January 2004 (Brookings, April 2006, p13). Coordination between the various humanitarian actors at all levels is at best inconsistent. In the wake of the 2004 Plateau state crisis, international donors criticised the overall national response on various grounds, including: a lack of coordination; the lack of a proper registration system for IDPs; inefficient use of resources despite adequate financial capacity; lack of proper planning, monitoring and evaluation; and the politicisation of humanitarian assistance. At the same time neither the UN nor international donors such as the European Commission’s Humanitarian Office regarded the situation in Plateau state as a real humanitarian emergency; with major implications for response and funding. Indeed many donors see Nigeria as well endowed and able to address such situations from its own resources. There is a widely held view that the Nigerian government should focus its efforts on addressing the root causes of the problem; including the equitable distribution of resources; rather than focusing on the symptoms. The UN system in Nigeria; headed by a Resident Coordinator who is also Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme – consists of numerous agencies, and has since 2000 been organised around a Development Assistance Framework. So, with a firm focus on development needs, UN assistance to IDPs in Nigeria has been fairly ad hoc. The Red Cross movement as well as a few international NGOs has also been involved in IDP response, albeit in a rather uncoordinated fashion."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Numerous persons displaced during the year ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17288]

"During periods of societal violence, numerous persons were displaced from their places of residence (see section 5). According to Amnesty International (AI), tens of thousands of persons remained displaced in the Niger Delta region during the year due to continued ethnic and communal conflict."

Document(s): Open document

13.07.2004 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Report on internal displacement (background, causes, patterns), physical security, freedom of movement, subsistence needs (health, nutrition and shelter), patterns of return/resettlement and humanitarian access ("Profile of internal displacement: Nigeria") [#24045],  [ID 15321]

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2004 - Source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Thousands of Nigerians fled from central Plateau state after clashes between rival militia culminated in a massacre in the village of Yelwa ("MSF assists people displaced by violence in Nigeria") [#23038],  [ID 15322]

Document(s): Open document

24.05.2004 - Source: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

More than 57,000 Nigerians internally displaced ("World Refugee Survey 2004") [#22783],  [ID 15323]

"Localized violence linked to political, religious, and ethnic differences rocked Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, for the fifth consecutive year in 2003. More than one million people have been displaced since 1999, 750,000 in central Nigeria from 2001-2003 alone, according to Nigerian government estimates. More than 57,000 Nigerians were internally displaced at year’s end. [...]

During 2003, clashes and riots in northern states and oil-rich southern states destroyed thousands of homes, depleted livestock and crops, and uprooted over 100,000 people. Plateau and Benue States in central Nigeria, Yobe State in the northeast, Cross River State in the southeast, and the oil-rich Niger Delta had the greatest concentrations of displaced people in 2003. The worst violence began in March and peaked during elections in April and May.

In northeastern Adamawa State, fighting between herding and farming communities displaced 30,000 people and resulted in 120 deaths and 500 injuries. About 11,000 people awaited return to their homes at year’s end, according to the Nigerian Red Cross.

Fighting between Urhobo and Itsekiri ethnic groups and clashes with soldiers in the southern oil town of Warri left dozens dead, more than 100 injured, and over 6,000 uprooted, most of whom camped in the open and in churches without any assistance for several months. Displaced populations described soldiers and ethnic gangs burning down dozens of villages and shooting civilians indiscriminately.

In the northeastern town of Gombe, Bauchi State, violence between Fulani nomads and farmers left 24 dead, 200 injured, and 40,000 displaced. Most of the displaced people sought shelter in temporary accommodation in schools and public buildings.

In late 2003, at least 10,000 people fled their homes in Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria, following clashes between security forces and members of Al Sunna Wal Jamma, a militant Islamic group which sought to make Yobe a fundamentalist Islamic state.

A dispute between Muslim ethnic Fulani herders and Christian ethnic Mambila farmers in 2002 over grazing lands in eastern Nigeria sparked violence that reportedly killed nearly 100 herdsmen and 50,000 head of cattle, and pushed an estimated 20,000 Fulani into neighboring Cameroon. More than 17,000 residents of Taraba State uprooted by the conflict remained in Cameroon at the end of 2003. Most resided near the Nigerian boarder, where they received emergency food aid, education, health care, and assistance with income-generating projects."

Document(s): Open document

14.05.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

At least 57,000 people have fled their homes following sectarian violence involving Christians and Muslims in northern and central Nigeria ("57,000 people displaced by sectarian violence in two states") [#22271],  [ID 15324]

"At least 57,000 people have fled their homes following sectarian violence involving Christians and Muslims in northern and central Nigeria, officials said on Friday.

More than 30,000 Christians have been displaced from their homes in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, which was racked by religious violence on Tuesday and Wednesday, they said.

A further 27,000 displaced people had sought refuge in Bauchi state in east central Nigeria following a massacre of Muslims by Christian gangs in neighbouring Plateau state earlier this month, the officials added."

Document(s): Open document

31.10.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Mass evictions of residents from Ijora-Badiya in Lagos ("Nigeria: Mass forced evictions in Lagos must stop") [#17348],  [ID 15325]

Document(s): Open document

09.09.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

At least 80,000 people living in and around the city of Kaduna have been displaced by flooding ("Floods displace 80,000 in Kaduna") [#15918],  [ID 15326]

""At least 80,000 people living in and around the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna have been displaced by flooding following torrential rains on Sunday that forced the Kaduna River to burst its banks.

Property worth several hundred dollars was destroyed by the worst floods ever to hit the town, officials said. The most affected districts included Barnawa, Kabala, Nassarawa and Tirkania. There were however no reports of deaths, but 30,000 homesteads were washed away.""

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2003 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Report on internal displacement (background, causes, patterns), physical security, freedom of movement, subsistence needs (health, nutrition and shelter), patterns of return/resettlement and humanitarian access ("Profile of internal displacement: Nigeria") [#13133],  [ID 15327]

Document(s): Open document

25.07.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Hundreds of people fled the Yelwa and Shendam districts in central Plateau State following the expiry of an army ultimatum for communities in the area to return weapons taken from a soldier and a policeman killed while on a peace mission ("Nigeria: Villagers flee as army ultimatum expires") [#7961],  [ID 15328]

"Hundreds of people have been fleeing the Yelwa and Shendam districts in central Nigeria’s Plateau State following the expiry of an army ultimatum for communities in the area to return weapons taken from a soldier and a policeman killed while on a peace mission, residents said.
Many residents said they feared reprisal attacks by soldiers were imminent after the ultimatum expired on Wednesday. Many have taken refuge in the state capital, Jos, while others headed to other districts that had not been affected by ethnic clashes which broke out in the area in June.
"I have taken my wife and children to Jos for safety and many people have fled to other parts of the state for the same reason,” Joshua Dabup, a resident of Yelwa, told IRIN. He said he would return after a few days but would not take his family back until felt the danger had passed.
Brig-Gen Ben Akpunonu, head of a military task force in charge of maintaining security in the increasingly volatile Plateau State, said last week the army would go in search of the weapons “and deal with that situation decisively” if they were not returned by Wednesday. The dead soldier and policeman had been part of security reinforcements sent to Yelwa late in June following clashes between Muslims and Christians that also spread to the state's Shendam, Wase and Langtang districts."

Document(s): Open document

19.07.2002 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Norwegian Refugee Council: Sharia-related communal conflict leads to displacement (""Profile of internal displacement: Nigeria"") [#7908],  [ID 15330]

"Religious clashes are also a cause of displacement. They occur mainly in the North between Muslims and Christians and are related to the introduction of the Islamic legal system, Sharia, in several northern states, but involves an ethnic dimension as well (Ibeanu 1998, p.50, IRIN 24 September 2001). In May 2002, Sharia law was introduced in a southern state (Oyo) for the first time."

Document(s): Open document

10.06.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Towards the end of 2001, a total of some 400,000 people were internally displaced ("Nordnigeria, Update Mai 2002 ") [#8103],  [ID 15331]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2001 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Towards the end of 2001, a total of some 400,000 people were internally displaced (""Profile of internal displacement: Nigeria"") [#4825],  [ID 15329]

"Conflict-induced displacement in Nigeria is caused by several, individual conflicts. Available figures
suggested that towards the end of 2001, a total of some 400,000 people were internally displaced, of which 300,000 resulted from the latest ethnic clashes in central Nigeria during October 2001.
• First of all, ethnic rivalries are closely interwoven with the four other categories. Nigeria is host to 250 ethnic groups and an important factor fuelling communal violence was the emergence during the 1990s of militant groups affiliated to specific ethnic groups. Ethnic violence in central Nigeria gave rise to massive displacement of some 300,000 people during October 2001.
• Religious violence occurs mainly in the north between Muslims and Christians and are related to the introduction of the Islamic legal system, Sharia, in several northern states, but involves an ethnic dimension as well.
• Agricultural policies have favoured large-scale agricultural projects and have forced farmers away
from their land. This resulted directly in communal violence, often of an ethnic character, over borderlands and fishing waters. As a result of increasing desertification on Nigeria's northernmost fringes, many pastoral people have started pushing southwards in search of grazing land, accounting to some extent for the conflict between Tivs and the pastoral Hausa- Fulani people in June 2001.
• Conflicts related to the creation of new administrative boundaries are another factor of displacement. The new boundaries are highly contested, especially where it has fulled tensions between different ethnic groups.
• Finally, conflicts related to oil exploration in the Niger Delta have been a factor behind displacement in the Niger Delta, where the oil exploration has been associated with state violence, communal disputes, environmental pollution and a worsening economic and material situation in the communities."

Document(s): Open document

29.10.2001 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Up to 300,000 people currently displaced in central region as a result of communal clashes and recent attacks launched against several communities by the army ("Up to 300,000 displaced in central region") [#4469],  [ID 15333]

"Up to 300,000 people are currently displaced in Nigeria's central region as a result of communal clashes and recent attacks launched against several communities by the army, local officials said. (…)Large numbers of displaced people are staying in several camps around the Benue State capital, Makurdi, where they joined others who had fled an earlier fighting in June between Tivs and Hausa-speaking Azeris in nearby Nasarawa State. Tivs are the majority ethnic group in Benue State but have significant populations in other central region states, including Taraba, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Plateau."

Document(s): Open document