At least 8,521 Nigerians sought refuge in Niger Republic, Cameroon and Chad between December 2025 and May 2026 due to worsening insecurity in the North-West and North-East.
The figures come from an analysis of the UNHCR Nigeria Forcibly Displaced Populations dashboard, produced jointly with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, the Nigeria Immigration Service and IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.
The new arrivals pushed the total registered Nigerian refugee population in the three countries to 416,184.
Niger Republic, which shares a long border with Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina, saw the biggest increase. Its Nigerian refugee count rose from 258,359 in December 2025 to 268,967 by May 2026 — an addition of 10,608 people in six months.
The surge coincides with rising attacks in Sokoto and Zamfara. Internally displaced persons in Sokoto alone more than doubled within the same period, from 88,562 to 181,526.
Most refugees in Niger are settled in the Diffa region near the border, scattered across an estimated 135 makeshift camps along 200km of Route National 1, which runs parallel to the Komadougou River. Key border towns receiving arrivals include Kuluk, Gashua, Machina and Malkotan.
Cameroon currently hosts 125,192 Nigerian refugees, mainly in the Far North Region and around the Minawao camp. Chad hosts 22,025, concentrated in Lac Province around Baga Sola and Ngala.
According to the UNHCR Nigerian Refugees and Repatriation Overview, most displaced people in all three countries come from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa — the states where Boko Haram and ISWAP have operated since 2009.
In the first half of 2025, at least 2,266 people were killed by insurgents or bandits, exceeding the total casualties recorded for all of 2024. Over two years of the Tinubu administration, at least 10,217 people were killed in attacks across Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara.
The emergence of Lakurawa, a new armed group with cross-border operations into Niger and Mali, has further worsened insecurity in the North-West and North-Central.
In Niger’s Diffa region, under a state of emergency since 2015, ISWAP continues to operate with relative freedom. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network projected Crisis-level food insecurity for Diffa through May 2026. Among displaced populations there, 63% lack sufficient food and 43% lack adequate water.
The UNHCR report shows 37,911 Nigerians have returned home from the three countries since 2019. In 2025 alone, 26,775 returned, including over 17,000 repatriated from Niger between April and November and more than 7,000 from Chad after a tripartite agreement. By April 2026, 3,510 had returned, all to Borno.
Voluntary return remains slow. After Borno Governor Babagana Zulum pledged N500,000 per returning household in December 2025, only 3,122 of more than 50,000 refugees at Minawao camp agreed to return. A UNHCR survey found just 32% — about 23,000 — of refugees across the three countries expressed intent to return.
Niger, which hosts the largest concentration of Nigerian refugees, has no formal tripartite repatriation framework yet. A draft agreement between Nigeria, Niger and UNHCR was still pending review as of February 2026.
On February 16, 2026, the Federal Government, through the North-West Governors’ Forum and UNDP, launched state-level adoption of the National Policy on IDPs and action plans for Katsina and Zamfara. IOM also expanded humanitarian programs to Katsina and Zamfara to cover underserved areas.
In his May 29 third-anniversary address, President Tinubu acknowledged persistent insecurity but said progress was being made. “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,” he said.
