Nigeria’s escalating violence and overlooked humanitarian crisis

The abduction of schoolchildren, targeted attacks on entire villages, and the violent removal of worshippers from both churches and mosques have thrust Nigeria into the global spotlight in recent months. This surge in violence took on a new geopolitical dimension when the United States launched airstrikes on jihadist positions in the country’s northern region on Christmas Day. Washington framed these strikes as a protective measure for Christian communities facing threats.

UN voices concern over Nigeria’s widespread insecurity

While high-profile attacks have dominated headlines, United Nations officials emphasize that these incidents represent only part of a much larger security challenge facing Africa’s most populous nation. “Security remains one of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges,” explains Mohamed Malik Fall, UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the country. “It’s no longer confined to a single region—it’s almost everywhere.”

A two-decade insurgency reshaping the nation

The crisis originated in Nigeria’s northeast, where an armed insurgency led first by Boko Haram and later by its splinter groups, including the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, has persisted since 2009. Nearly 20 years later, this prolonged conflict has left deep scars across the nation.

“Over two million people remain displaced—not temporarily, but for generations. Entire communities have known nothing but life in displacement camps,” Fall notes. Available data indicates more than 40,000 deaths since the insurgency began, along with the destruction of thousands of schools and health centers. Crucially, vast agricultural areas have become inaccessible, leaving populations cut off from economic opportunities and stripped of their ability to earn a living and maintain dignity.

Rising banditry and local conflicts

The northeast insurgency has been compounded by growing insecurity in other regions. In the northwest, states like Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto face what authorities describe as “banditry”—armed criminal groups that engage in looting, kidnapping, and extortion. “Entire villages have been abandoned. Today, we’re looking at nearly one million displaced persons in this region alone,” Fall reports.

Central Nigeria’s “Middle Belt” has become another flashpoint, where clashes between farmers and herders over land—exacerbated by population pressure and climate change—have triggered additional waves of displacement. To the south, separatist movements and oil-related sabotage add to the country’s instability.

With approximately 3.5 million internally displaced persons, Nigeria accounts for nearly 10% of Africa’s total displaced population.

Debating the narrative of religious persecution

Recent attacks on Christian schools and churches have reignited fierce debates about religious persecution beyond Nigeria’s borders. In January, over 160 worshippers were abducted during Sunday services in Kaduna State; days earlier, northwest villages were attacked, resulting in dozens of deaths and the targeting of students near Papiri Catholic School.

These violent incidents evoke painful memories of the 2014 Chibok abductions, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 mostly Christian schoolgirls in Borno State. In response to these attacks, the U.S. cited Christian protection as justification for its Christmas Day airstrikes in northwest Nigeria. Some American officials have gone so far as to describe the situation as a “Christian genocide,” a claim the UN has not endorsed due to insufficient evidence of deliberate targeting based on religion.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to characterize this violence as targeted persecution of a religious group,” Fall states. “The vast majority of the over 40,000 insurgency-related deaths have been Muslims, attacked and killed in mosques.” He points to a Christmas Eve attack in Maiduguri—Boko Haram’s historical stronghold—that struck an area “between a mosque and a market,” killing Muslim worshippers leaving prayer services. “Insecurity affects everyone, regardless of religion or ethnicity,” he emphasizes, warning that certain narratives “risk deepening divisions rather than fostering social cohesion.”

A massive, underfunded humanitarian emergency

Beneath the security crisis lies a humanitarian emergency of staggering proportions. In Nigeria’s northeast alone, 7.2 million people currently require assistance, with nearly 6 million in severe or critical conditions, according to the UN. Food insecurity has become particularly acute, with projections indicating up to 36 million people could face varying levels of food insecurity in the coming months. Among children under five, over 3.5 million are at risk of acute malnutrition. “The consequences aren’t just immediate,” Fall cautions. “Malnutrition impacts cognitive development, education, and continues to affect individuals well into adulthood.”

These vulnerabilities are compounded by climate-related shocks—droughts and floods—as well as recurring epidemics like cholera and meningitis, and a weakened healthcare system.

Funding for the crisis has plummeted. “Just a few years ago, the humanitarian response plan reached nearly one billion dollars annually,” Fall recalls. “In 2024, it dropped to 585 million. Last year, it fell further to 262 million. This year, we’re not even sure we’ll reach 200 million.”

Nigeria’s economic giant must lead the response

Nigeria‘s paradox lies in its status as Africa’s largest economy grappling with one of the continent’s most severe humanitarian crises. “Nigeria isn’t Sudan, Somalia, or South Sudan,” Fall stresses. “It’s a country with resources. The government must take primary responsibility for the humanitarian response.”

For the UN, the priority is gradually shifting leadership of aid efforts to federal and state authorities while urging donors not to turn away. “No population wants to live on assistance,” he concludes. “People prefer opportunities to access economic independence over dependency on aid. Giving a fish feeds for a day; teaching to fish nourishes for a lifetime.”