Insecurity: Nigerians kick as FG prioritises refugees over IDPs

…Say, ‘Charity must begin from home’

Sometime this year, horror unfolded in Darul Jamal in Borno State. About 63 people were massacred by jihadists, and sadly, the victims included families that were recently resettled from an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

Their gruesome death came after years of enduring indignity in overcrowded IDP camps, amid hunger, disease, insecurity, their children denied education, women and girls faced sexual exploitation, and men rot without jobs and lost dignity.

But observers argued that if not for the insistence of the authorities on shutting down some IDP camps, citing normalcy, these innocent families would have still been alive today.

“They forced our people back from the camps to unsafe communities knowing well that Boko Haram and other terrorists still roam about. I blame the Darul Jamal massacre on the ill-conceived policy of the government and the inability of our soldiers to protect unarmed civilians,” Idris Maigari, a disgruntled Maiduguri resident, decried.

Of course, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno State, has severally admitted that the Nigerian military is overstretched, and cannot guarantee security across resettled areas.

Based on the governor’s admittance, many concerned citizens query the rationale for resettling some IDPs, where their security is not guaranteed.

“Our military bases have been attacked severally, and if our soldiers cannot defend military bases from terrorists’ attacks, it will be difficult to protect unarmed civilians, especially new areas for IDPs resettlement,” Musa Makama, a Bauchi-based agronomist, decried.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), Nigeria has over 370 formalised camps alongside thousands of informal or camp-like settlements across the country, sheltering roughly 3.7 million internally displaced persons, half of which are children of school age, whose living conditions are undesirable, future bleak and fate in their hands.

The number, according to the IOD, is expected to double in the next five years if the root causes of their displacement are not addressed soon and it also places Nigeria among the top three in Africa, which also has the largest number of IDPs in the world.

However, in spite of the growing numbers if its IDPs, their difficult living conditions, inadequate food supplies, poor sanitation, limited access to healthcare and even security challenge, Nigeria still hosts over 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Lake Chad Basin and other countries, a realities that baffles many concerned citizens, who query why a country that is struggling to protect its citizens is extending such benevolence to outsiders.

At the commemoration of World Refugee Day 2026 in Abuja on Monday, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), used the occasion to reaffirm Nigeria’s unflinching commitment to the protection, welfare, and empowerment of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in line with global best practices.

While many think that the refugees are more than 100,000 being quoted by the government, the SGF defended government’s hosting, saying that the growing challenges of climate-induced displacement, insecurity, and protracted conflicts across the globe underscore the continued relevance of the Convention and the need for stronger international cooperation.

As well, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), insisted that solidarity must extend beyond expressions of sympathy to practical commitments that safeguard the rights and dignity of vulnerable populations, with protection that include access to quality education, healthcare services, decent shelter, legal identity, social services and opportunities for meaningful participation in society.

But the deplorable situations and miseries at most IDP camps today say otherwise. The Darul Jamal massacre of resettled IDPs points to the unsafe environment and the fact that the battle against insecurity is far from being won.

Amnesty International has been lamenting that IDP camp schools in Makurdi had been closed for over three years due to lack of funding, yet the government expends funds for refugees’ welfare.

For many, Nigeria can still be the ‘big brother’ in Africa, but the reality today is that countries across the world are giving priority to the welfare of their citizens before foreigners.

“Nobody is saying that Nigeria should not accept refugees. But priority should be given to the over 3.7 million Nigerians who live in very deplorable conditions at various IDP camps across the country. No school, no proper shelter, no food, no security and you call that life in a country that goes about sheltering foreigners while its own is beaten by rain and sun,” Duniya Babanyaro, a human rights lawyer said.

He observed that Nigeria is quick at responding to issues concerning its neighbours than its citizens.

“I blame our pioneer leaders who cultivated the ‘Africa First’ policy, which has seen them prioritising foreign interests over citizens’ welfare,” he said.

“From Gowon, my kinsman, to Obasanjo, Babangida, Jonathan and even Tinubu, everything outside the country is given priority. If the UN wants soldiers to fight anywhere in the world, Nigeria will be the first to send from Africa, despite its security challenges, if they ask for donations, Nigeria will send millions of dollars. Let us learn to pull back sometimes.

“The South African government is indirectly supporting the anti-migrant attacks because the people don’t want foreigners, especially Nigerians. The June 30th anti-migrant protest will still be held in South Africa and our government is busy repatriating our citizens instead of severing diplomatic relations. But our government will not allow us to do such things against foreigners here. They will clamp down on protests and preach ‘One Africa’. It is time to pull back and look after the citizens first, before outsiders. Let the countries in Chad Basin take care of their refugees. Nigeria does not have space, money and soldiers to defend them”.

Looking at the economic implication of hosting refugees, Bundu Iyorwese, an economist, noted that going by the UN standard, between $1-5 is spent on a refugee daily, and when multiplied by 100,000 people, the country is required to spend between $100,000 to $500, 000 every day on refugees.

But the daily expenditure, according to him, is even tripled when you add the cost of running the camps and maintaining security.

“I bet you, Nigeria does not spend up to $1 on each IDP every day. If the government insists they do, the harsh conditions across the camps say otherwise. I have been to the Wassa camp in the outskirts of Abuja and I saw how deplorable things are there. We should rather fight insecurity, restore peace and let the IDPs go back to their normal life than the semi-hell situation they have in their own country,” Iyorwese said.

The Gboko-born economist decried that the Nigerian factor also comes into play in IDP welfare as some officials also corner funds meant for the welfare.

“The IDPs are voiceless. When funds are being released in Abuja for their welfare, who monitors it, do we confirm if the numbers being quoted for each camp are true, what about babies delivered and deaths at the camps. Despite these, our government is shouting about hosting refugees, from which war-torn country? If I may ask.

“Let’s be honest, people are suffering at IDP camps and even in the peaceful cities and communities. The government needs to take care of us first before refugees,” he urged.

Also, citing an example with Ghana where the Buduburam Refugee Camp in the Gomoa East District, Central Region, which hosted Liberian refugees for 30 years, was demolished in 2024, Niyi Omofemi, a senior auditor with Ecobank Ghana, and humanitarian analyst, noted that welcoming refugees is not the problem, but getting them back to their country when peace returns.

According to him, the United Nations ruled in 2006 that it was safe for Liberian refugees in Ghana to return home and the Liberia Camp ceased to be classified as a refugee shelter in 2012, but they refused to go home, yet only about 3,000 of the estimated 15,000 Liberians in the camp hold valid refugee status.

“We don’t want this to happen to us. Nigeria has enough IDPs, we don’t need refugees from Lake Chad Basin countries, which have allegiance with the terrorists. Again, the government said there is no money and that is why it is implementing the reforms for the economy to rebound, so where is the money to take care of the refugees? We need to be honest and face the reality, which is priority should be given to the entire citizens because all of us are IDPs. Some lack shelter, but we all lack security, peace and money. We are all displaced and need the attention given to foreigners at refugee camps, at airports, immigration, free trade zones, oil rigs and mining sites,” Omofemi said.

Samuel Onikoyi, a Nigeria academic in Brussel, thinks that empathising refugees while IDPs in the country groan under neglect is hypocritical as the citizens’ welfare should be given priority to foreigners because they are the owners of the land, taxpayers and defenders of the country when need arise.

“The Western world is what it is today because of the priority given to citizens’ welfare. I have lived here in Belgium for 13 years and I have also been in other parts of Europe. The governments here don’t joke with the citizens, and in return, they enjoy uncommon allegiance and support from the people. That is how it should be and not the other way round. If the state doesn’t care for the citizens, they will reap unrest and sabotage, which I think is why insecurity in Nigeria is escalating despite many efforts to curb it,” Onikoyi said.

According to him, Nigeria should be pulling back a bit from its ‘famed’ and ‘self-imposed’ position as African giant because it has made it to give priority to issues affecting others and paying less attention to welfare of its citizens.

He argued further that a country that has over 3.7 million IDPs has no reason to accept refugees from other countries because of the cost implications, security threat, observance of human rights and other burdens such places on the host country.

“There are many Nigerians in jail here in Europe for bailable offences. There are immigration rules that are negatively impacting Nigerians, especially academics and researchers, but the government allowed the citizens to be bundled into one label of ‘undesirable’ visitors. Some other countries will fight back and get better treatment for their citizens out there. Nigeria needs to change its foreign policy trust from Africa first to Nigerians first because that is what is obtainable even here in Europe,” he noted.

For Chjioke Umelahi, an Abuja-based lawyer, and former Abia lawmaker, the realities in the country today require the government to be cautious and practical as hosting refugees when there are millions of IDPs across the country questioning the intentions of such actions and policy.

“I think, accepting refugees should be a priority of countries that can hold on their own in terms of security, countries that do not have IDP issues and countries whose economies are robust enough,” he said.

“The government cannot be implementing economic reforms that are squeezing the citizens into being a generous host of refugees. We have Nigerians who fled to Chad, Niger and Mali at the peak of the insurgence, why are these countries not treating them as refugees? Why will others not invade the country as refugees when Nigeria is building a railway to the Niger Republic. It is ironic that we are considered rich by our neighbours when the majority of our citizens are suffering”.

In their conclusion, most concerned Nigerians urged the government to address the root causes of the displacement, especially insecurity, to get the moral right to accept refugees as empathising refugees while IDPs grow and groan under neglect is hypocritical.