The International Organisation for Migration has disclosed that 737,073 people are internally displaced across Nigeria’s North-West, with about 620,000 of them, representing 84 per cent, displaced by armed banditry and kidnapping.

The IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Sharon Dimanche, disclosed this while speaking on the humanitarian and security situation in the region during a press conference organised by the organisation in Katsina on Friday.

Dimanche, who joined the media engagement virtually, said Katsina State alone had 180,938 internally displaced persons (IDPs), while neighbouring Zamfara had 261,995.

She added that IOM had recorded almost 147,000 returnees across the North-West, including more than 37,000 in Katsina.

However, she cautioned that the return of displaced persons should not automatically be regarded as a durable solution, stressing that returnees must be able to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.

Dimanche said, “A total of 737,073 internally displaced people have been recorded across the North-West states, assessed in IOM’s latest assessment reflected in this presentation.

“Here in Katsina, we are talking about almost 181,000 people who are displaced. In neighbouring Zamfara, the figure is over 261,000. At the same time, IOM recorded almost 147,000 returnees across the North-West, including more than 37,000 here in Katsina.

“Some people are being displaced, but some are also trying to return home. And the question is not simply, have they really returned? For me, the real question is, can they stay once they return? Can they rebuild their lives? Can they feel safe again?

“Because many of you here represent national media networks, I want to make one point very clear: what is happening in the North-West is not simply a regional issue. It is a national issue. It affects food production and livelihoods. It affects education and access to basic services. It also affects local economies and social cohesion and, ultimately, Nigeria’s wider stability and development.”

She said insecurity remained the major driver of displacement, although climate-related disasters were increasingly contributing to population movements.

Dimanche said more than 138,000 people were displaced in Katsina between January 2025 and January 2026, with nearly 72,000 displacements linked to floods, heavy rainfall or windstorms, while almost 60,000 were caused by armed banditry and kidnapping.

She said, “Between January 2025 and January 2026, reported incidents displaced more than 138,000 people in Katsina alone. Almost 72,000 of those displacements followed floods, heavy rainfall or windstorms, and almost 60,000 were linked to armed banditry and kidnapping.”

The IOM chief urged stakeholders to view displacement beyond isolated categories of insecurity or climate disasters, noting that affected families often experience similar consequences regardless of the cause.

“A family does not experience displacement in categories. Whether they flee because of violence or because floods have destroyed their homes and livelihoods, the consequences can be very similar: the loss of livelihoods, children out of school, fear, uncertainty and communities placed under enormous pressure,” she said.

Dimanche further disclosed that across the North-West and North-Central regions combined, the assessed number of IDPs declined by nearly five per cent between October 2025 and February 2026, while the number of returnees increased by almost five per cent.

She described the development as encouraging but warned that returning home without adequate security and basic services could expose communities to renewed displacement.

“A return is not automatically a durable solution. People need to return to places where they feel safe, where they can earn a living, where their children can go to school, and where the conditions that displaced them in the first place have been addressed,” she said.

The IOM Chief of Mission identified peacebuilding and early warning systems as critical tools for preventing conflicts from escalating into violence and displacement.

Dimanche commended the Federal and state governments for their leadership and collaboration with IOM, as well as the European Union for its support through the Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience Programme, being implemented in Katsina and Zamfara states.

She said the programme was designed not only to respond to the consequences of instability but also to strengthen peacebuilding, early warning and community resilience.

Also speaking, the IOM Head of Sub-Office, North-West and Programme Manager, Katsina, Jean Nahesi, said the 737,073 displacement figure was generated through IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix programme.

Nahesi said about 620,000 people across the North-West had been displaced by banditry, describing the figure as a major indication of the scale of insecurity confronting the region.

He disclosed that 74 per cent of assessed IDP locations required shelter, while 89 per cent reported inadequate sanitation facilities.

“Displacement is one thing, but where the people live and how we take care of those people is the issue. How are they safe? How are they benefiting from social services?” Nahesi asked.

He said displacement had resulted in loss of livelihoods and agricultural production, increased food insecurity and vulnerability, social fragmentation, weakened community resilience, reduced economic opportunities for women and youths, increased dependence on humanitarian assistance and heightened tensions between displaced populations and host communities.

According to him, other challenges affecting peacebuilding and humanitarian programming in the North-West included weakened social cohesion and trust between communities and institutions, climate-related shocks, competition over natural resources, limited engagement of faith-based organisations and their leaders in structured peacebuilding efforts, multidimensional poverty and unemployment.

Nahesi said the CPCRR programme had established 80 Community Peace and Resilience Committees across Katsina and Zamfara states and trained 1,700 community members and stakeholders on conflict prevention, early warning and early response.

The IOM official said 11 early warning and transhumance flow monitoring reports had also been published during the period.

According to the latest IOM figures presented at the briefing, Katsina has 180,938 displaced persons, Kano 10,461, Zamfara 261,995, Sokoto 176,099 and Kaduna 107,580.