Photo: An IDP camp in Maiduguri, Borno State (file photo) — Wikimedia Commons
Nearly 64,000 people have fled northern Nigeria for neighbouring Niger since the start of 2026, escaping attacks by Islamist militants and armed gangs, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
UNHCR said the influx is stretching resources in Niger, which already hosts more than 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including about 327,500 Nigerians. Several hundred Nigerians have also sought refuge in Benin, the agency said.
- Nearly 64,000 arrivals in Niger in 2026, per UNHCR's count, plus several hundred in Benin
- More than 23,000 people — over two-thirds of them children — have reached Diffa alone
- Only about 5 per cent of this year's arrivals have been formally registered, UNHCR says
Where the fleeing Nigerians are arriving
Most of the new arrivals have settled in Niger's border regions of Diffa, in the south-east, and Tahoua, in the west. In October alone, around 1,200 people crossed into Diffa and another 3,400 into Tahoua, UNHCR said.
"Thousands of newly arrived refugees, many of them children, are struggling to survive with limited access to food, clean water, shelter and essential services, as humanitarian resources fall critically short," UNHCR spokesperson Dominique Hyde said in a statement on Tuesday. Many families are living in makeshift shelters, while women often walk several kilometres each day to fetch water, she said.
Aid agencies have also reported rising malnutrition, respiratory infections and poor sanitation among the new arrivals. UNHCR said grain production was expected to fall short in about 700 of Diffa's 1,000 villages, while an estimated 70 per cent of pasture was lost during the 2026 rainy season.
Why insecurity in northern Nigeria is spilling across borders
The exodus underscores the regional impact of violence in northern Nigeria, where attacks by Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and criminal gangs have uprooted millions of people over the past decade, alongside farmer-herder conflicts.
Hyde said insecurity and climate-related pressures were worsening humanitarian needs, noting that more than 70 per cent of Niger's reported security incidents this year occurred in the Diffa region — the same region receiving the largest share of arrivals.
What happens next
UNHCR is seeking $11.4 million to scale up its emergency response in Niger, Nigeria and Benin, including $2 million for immediate critical needs such as water, food, shelter, healthcare, registration and protection. The agency warned that thousands of displaced families could be left without basic assistance unless additional funding is secured, and that low registration rates leave many arrivals without the documentation needed to access aid and public services.
Credit: Reuters and UN News reports of November 10, 2026, of the UNHCR statement.
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