The National Human Rights Commission has raised the alarm over rising internal displacement across Nigeria, with Yobe and Benue states recording the highest numbers of internally displaced persons in mid-2025.
Presenting the NHRC mid-year dashboard on Tuesday, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said Yobe topped the chart with 2,047 IDPs, while Benue followed with 1,850, underscoring a deepening humanitarian crisis in the North-East and North-Central regions.
According to the data, a total of 9,290 internally displaced persons were recorded across 11 states, with children accounting for 82 per cent of those affected. Ojukwu said displacement was driven largely by herder attacks, insurgent raids, and the destruction of critical infrastructure, which have severely disrupted livelihoods.
The states identified as facing ongoing humanitarian challenges include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Cross River, Taraba, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, with women and children bearing the brunt of the crisis.
Ojukwu, who was represented at the event by the Director of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Department, Mr Harry Obe, disclosed that the dashboard also recorded 215 asylum seekers experiencing registration challenges in Taraba and Cross River states, as well as 583 refugees, mostly within the same locations.
He added that 472 returnees were documented, with 81 per cent of them children struggling to reintegrate into communities still grappling with insecurity.
The NHRC boss further revealed that a UNHCR-supported project had reached more than 15,000 additional individuals since the beginning of the year, but noted a worrying 58 per cent increase in violations against children, driven by violence, climate shocks and food insecurity.
According to the dashboard, over 1,800 human rights violations were identified, including 530 cases of denial of 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 the challenges, Ojukwu said NHRC field teams resolved 372 cases, referred 1,157 to relevant agencies, conducted 104 detention visits covering 326 detainees, and carried out 331 community outreach programmes that reached 6,551 people on gender-based violence prevention and rights reporting.
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He expressed concern over persistent constraints faced by human rights monitors, such as inadequate transportation, high data costs and security risks, while commending their resilience and the support of the UNHCR amid funding pressures.
Ojukwu called on federal and state governments to domesticate the Kampala Convention, integrate NHRC data into humanitarian response planning, and strengthen security arrangements for returnees. He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to data-driven protection for Nigeria’s estimated 6.7 million displaced persons and urged stronger inter-agency coordination to scale up child protection services and support survivors of gender-based violence.
Also speaking, the Head of Human Rights Monitoring at the NHRC, Dr Benedict Agu, highlighted the harsh living conditions faced by IDPs, including inadequate nutrition, poor healthcare and limited socio-economic opportunities, adding that the Commission had intensified awareness campaigns and field assessments to improve humanitarian and human rights protection.
The presentation marked the fourth edition of the NHRC dashboard since its introduction.