Displacement in Borno, Zamfara and the Lake Chad Basin
Borno State, Zamfara State and the Nigerian Lake Chad Basin. Reported onset 1 July 2009.
TL;DR
Nigeria carries three distinct displacement crises at once: armed conflict in Borno and the wider northeast, armed banditry and mass abduction in Zamfara and the northwest, and cross border displacement around the Lake Chad Basin. Each is monitored separately, so figures are not interchangeable.
What happened
- In the northeast, the insurgency centred on Borno State and its neighbours Adamawa and Yobe has displaced people repeatedly since 2009, first into Maiduguri and then into formal camps and host communities across the state.
- Borno State authorities have moved through phases of camp closure and resettlement, relocating families from displacement sites in Maiduguri towards areas of origin or new resettlement sites, which changes where people are counted rather than ending displacement.
- In the northwest, armed groups commonly described as bandits have carried out village raids, kidnapping for ransom and mass school abductions across Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna, displacing farming communities and pushing some families across the border into Niger.
- Around the Lake Chad Basin, movement crosses the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, so the same crisis produces internally displaced people, refugees, returnees and third country nationals recorded under four national responses.
- Seasonal flooding, most visibly the 2024 Maiduguri floods, has repeatedly hit locations already hosting conflict displaced families, layering a climate shock on top of conflict displacement.
Why it matters for the data
- The northeast, the northwest and the Lake Chad Basin are counted through different exercises, so a single national displacement total hides which crisis is growing and which is stabilising.
- Borno displacement is protracted, with families displaced for more than a decade, while northwest displacement is often shorter and less visible because more people shelter with relatives than in camps.
- Camp closures and resettlement in Borno reduce site populations without necessarily reducing need, so falling camp figures should not be read as recovery.
- Zamfara and the wider northwest are under monitored compared with the northeast, which means reported figures there are more likely to understate movement.
- Lake Chad Basin movement is cross border, so Nigeria figures need to be read alongside Niger, Chad and Cameroon reporting rather than on their own.
- Access constraints in parts of Borno and Zamfara mean assessments cover only reachable locations, and coverage changes between rounds.
What to watch next
- IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix rounds for northeast Nigeria, and the separate northwest and north central assessments.
- Borno State resettlement and camp closure announcements, and how displacement site figures shift afterwards.
- UNHCR Nigeria situation reporting on refugee movement into Niger, Chad and Cameroon and on returns into Borno.
- OCHA Nigeria humanitarian access snapshots showing which local government areas are reachable.
- ACLED conflict event data for the northwest, which often moves before displacement assessments are published.
- Seasonal rainfall and flood forecasting for the Lake Chad Basin ahead of each wet season.
Where the figures come from
This page does not publish population figures for the event. Numbers for an active event change faster than any single page can responsibly restate them, and access restrictions mean estimates carry wide uncertainty. The organisations below publish the current figures and the methodology behind them.
Country context
For the wider picture, see the Nigeria displacement dashboard, which tracks conflict events, population movement and humanitarian needs on a rolling basis.