The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States remain in dire conditions, with many unable to return home, and with limited access to aid while continuing to live with hunger and insecurity.
The IDPs, despite billions of naira being spent annually for humanitarian assistance, have remained in a critical situation as they are yet to return to their residences.
According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), attacks on civilians have made people more vulnerable and continue to impede their access to assistance.
The report said that more than two million internally displaced people are unable to return to their homes in the three states of the northeast.
It added that protection needs remain high, especially for women and girls, due to violence, abduction, rape and other forms of gender-based violence; adding that children are also at risk of forced recruitment, especially when unaccompanied or separated from their families.
The report further noted that conflict and insecurity have cut people off from their agricultural production, resulting in food insecurity.
With climate change compounding the crisis, the humanitarian response is failing to keep pace with the deepening needs of the victims.
In Borno, despite government claims that some areas are safe for return, many IDPs remain skeptical, fearing a repeat of past attacks.
Even in government-controlled areas, the humanitarian situation remains dire.
In the Gubio IDP camp, located in Maiduguri, the state capital, faced sanitation challenges and lamented food scarcity, despite the government’s food aid intervention. The intervention is alleged to be riddled with corruption.
Women, Children Suffer More
Women and children are bearing the brunt of the crisis, with widespread reports of gender-based violence, abduction, and forced recruitment of children into armed groups.
The reported revealed that children separated from their families are at an even higher risk.
The OCHA report also warned that 230,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition in the three states otherwise known as BAY states.
In 2023, health workers reported that more than half a million people in these states were experiencing high rates of acute malnutrition.
Mothers watch helplessly as their children waste away. One such mother, 25-year-old Falmata Aliyu, cradled her skeletal son, who weighed just 5kg at 18 months old. “I lost my farm to the insurgency. We have nothing left,” she told newsmen, breaking into tears.
The 2024 Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan required $927 million to meet the needs of the insurgency victims in the three Boko Haram-ravaged states.
Despite the response plan, there is little evidence on the ground that these funds are making an impact.
Even when funds are allocated, there have been numerous challenges in ensuring that food and relief materials reach the beneficiaries.
For instance, in 2016 a large volume of grains intended for IDPs in Borno State, were allegedly diverted by a state government contractor.
Government’s Role in the Crisis
Beyond humanitarian aid, state and federal governments have been criticized for their failure to provide lasting solutions.
The joint Borno State Resettlement Plan, which aimed to return displaced persons to their communities, has been marred by allegations of poor planning and insecurity.
In Adamawa, a similar initiative saw thousands of IDPs move to communities lacking basic amenities.
The federal government has also been accused of downplaying the true scale of the crisis to attract less international scrutiny.
Security analysts say that for humanitarian aid to be effective, greater transparency and independent monitoring of funds are needed.
Additionally, climate change adaptation measures must be integrated into the humanitarian response.
The increasing frequency of floods and droughts in the region has worsened food insecurity, forcing thousands to flee.
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