December 23, 2025
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed that displacement remains a major humanitarian challenge in Nigeria, with Yobe and Benue States topping the list of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in mid-2025.
Presenting the NHRC displacement dashboard, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said Yobe recorded the highest number of IDPs with 2,047 displaced persons, while Benue followed closely with 1,850, reflecting a worsening humanitarian situation in parts of the North-East and North-Central regions.
Ojukwu, who was represented by the Director of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Department, Mr Harry Obe, said the figures underscored the urgent need for coordinated national and sub-national responses to Nigeria’s growing displacement crisis.
He noted that other states experiencing significant humanitarian challenges include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Cross River, Taraba, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, where conflict, insecurity and climate-related shocks have continued to disrupt livelihoods.
“The total number of recorded IDPs currently stands at 9,290, spread across 11 states, with children accounting for about 82 per cent of those affected,” Ojukwu said.
According to him, displacement in Benue was largely driven by herder attacks, while insurgent activities and destroyed infrastructure contributed significantly to population movements in Yobe and other affected states.
He added that the dashboard also captured the plight of 215 asylum seekers facing registration challenges in Taraba and Cross River States, as well as 583 refugees, most of whom were located within the same regions.
Ojukwu further disclosed that 472 returnees had been recorded, with 81 per cent being children who were struggling to reintegrate into insecure communities lacking basic services.
He said that since the beginning of the year, a UNHCR-backed project had reached over 15,000 additional individuals, but warned that vulnerabilities were increasing.
“Violations against children rose by 58 per cent, driven by violence, food insecurity and climate shocks,” he said.
The NHRC boss listed over 1,800 documented human rights violations, including 530 cases of denied access to food and shelter in Benue, Taraba and Kano; 278 restrictions on freedom of movement linked to insecurity in Yobe; 195 incidents of gender-based violence; and 324 barriers to education, particularly in Kano and Taraba.
Despite these challenges, Ojukwu said NHRC field teams resolved 372 cases, referred 1,157 cases to relevant agencies, conducted 104 detention visits reaching 326 detainees, and organised 331 community outreaches on gender-based violence prevention and human rights reporting, reaching over 6,500 people.
He decried persistent operational constraints faced by field monitors, including limited transportation, high data costs and security risks, while commending their resilience and the continued support of UNHCR amid global funding pressures.
Ojukwu called on federal and state governments to domesticate the Kampala Convention, integrate NHRC displacement data into humanitarian planning, and strengthen security for returnees.
He reaffirmed NHRC’s commitment to data-driven protection for Nigeria’s estimated 6.7 million displaced persons, urging stronger inter-agency coordination to scale up child protection services, address gender-based violence, close documentation gaps for asylum seekers and enhance detention oversight.
Earlier, the Head of Human Rights Monitoring, Dr Benedict Agu, while presenting the dashboard’s visual data, lamented the harsh realities faced by displaced persons, including poor nutrition, inadequate healthcare and deepening socio-economic hardship.
Agu said NHRC teams conducted interviews and awareness programmes across affected communities to better understand displacement-related challenges and strengthen humanitarian and human rights protection.
The October 2025 presentation marks the fourth edition of the NHRC displacement dashboard since its inception.
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