1m People Displaced In North-West – IOM

• Banditry, cattle rustling, and kidnapping have displaced around 1,087,875 people in Nigeria’s northwest states, especially affecting women and children
• The UN Migration (IOM) launches a conflict mitigation project in Katsina State, partnering with Mercy Corps and the Centre for Democracy Development to reduce conflicts
• The 18-month project will focus on local peace initiatives in four Katsina State local government areas to combat insecurity

It is estimated that 1,087,875 people have been internally displaced as a result of banditry, cattle rustling, and kidnapping for ransom in Nigeria’s northwest states.

Women and children were disproportionately affected by the crisis, with 54% of females and 56% of children displaced in Katsina State, affecting a total of 223,473 people.

This was revealed at the UN Migration (IOM) official launch-organized conflict mitigation and community reconciliation project in northwest Nigeria on Monday in Katsina State’s capital.

Laurent De Boeck, IOM Chief of Mission, explained that the northwest has been experiencing a series of conflicts since 2014, leading to research conducted in October 2022 to discover an increase in conflicts, “affecting an estimated number of over one million people, 29 percent of whom are from Katsina State.”

Reaffirming that the IOM, Mercy Corps, and the Centre for Democracy Development, with the support of the European Union, are collaborating with the Katsina state government to promote a community reconciliation process in the state, to reduce conflict, promote locally-driven peace initiatives, and mitigating conflict in north-west Nigeria’s natural resources.

The project will last approximately 18 months and will be carried out in four local government areas in Katsina State: Dandume, Danmusa, Batsari, and Jibia.

Speaking on behalf of the state government, the commissioner of Internal Affairs and Security, Nasiru Muazu Danmusa, thanked the international partners for the project, stating that the state requires more assistance in combating insecurity in some parts of the state.