The Federal Republic of Nigeria has called for a national response to address the menaces of internal displacement and farmer-herder conflict.
This clarion call was conveyed to the members of the ECOWAS Parliament on Thursday, 24th September 2026, at the second parliamentary seminar of the regional legislature underway in Ghana, with particular focus on climate change.
The call was communicated by the Deputy President of the Senate of Nigeria, Hon. Jibril Barau, who tabled the report of the Republic before the community lawmakers on the experience of the Republic with climate change.
Nigeria is a large and diverse federation with extensive agricultural and pastoral economies, and millions of Nigerians depend directly or indirectly on farming and livestock production for food, employment, and household income.
“Over time, pressures on land and water resources have increased as a result of population growth, agricultural expansion, climate variability, environmental degradation, changing migration patterns, and insecurity. In some parts of the country, these pressures have contributed to tensions between farming and pastoralist communities,” he said.
At the same time, Nigeria has experienced internal displacement arising from several overlapping causes, including armed conflict, communal violence, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, terrorism, flooding, and other disasters.
The scale and complexity of the problem require a national response that recognizes the different drivers of displacement.
He reported: “The International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2026–2028 Nigeria Crisis Response Plan reports that Nigeria’s North-East had more than 2.2 million internally displaced persons and more than two million returnees according to Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Round 49 of March 2025.”
In the North-Central and North-West, he added, the DTM Round 16 recorded more than 1.3 million internally displaced persons in February 2025.
These figures, he said, demonstrate that displacement is not simply a humanitarian issue, but also a development, governance, security, environmental, and economic issue.
Understanding Farmer-Herder Conflict in Nigeria
He explained that farmer-herder conflict refers broadly to disputes, tensions, or violent confrontations arising between crop-producing farming communities and pastoralist livestock-keeping communities.
He cited that the immediate triggers of farmer-herder conflict may include destruction of crops by grazing livestock, disputes over access to land and water, blockage or encroachment on traditional livestock routes, cattle theft, and rustling.
The triggers, he added, also include disputes over ownership and use of land; competition over shrinking natural resources; retaliation following attacks or perceived injustices; disputes associated with transhumance and seasonal livestock movement; and the proliferation of firearms and criminal exploitation of local conflicts.
He said that it is important, however, not to reduce every farmer-herder conflict to a simple struggle between “farmers” and “herders.”
“In several affected areas, farmer-herder tensions intersect with communal disputes, banditry, land disputes, organized criminality, climate pressures, and weaknesses in local conflict-resolution mechanisms,” he said.
He indicated that the 2026 IOM Nigeria Crisis Response Plan identifies escalating farmer-herder tensions, criminal activities, climate-related shocks, seasonal transhumance, and disputes over land and water among the factors contributing to displacement in different regions of Nigeria.
Climate change, he underscored, is particularly significant, because “droughts, floods, and environmental degradation can reduce the availability of productive land and water, increasing competition among livelihood groups.”
Understanding Internal Displacement in Nigeria
He reported that internal displacement occurs when individuals or communities are forced or obliged to leave their homes or places of habitual residence but remain within the internationally recognized borders of their country.
He further said that internal displacement may result from armed conflict, generalized violence, human-rights violations, disasters, and other circumstances that threaten people’s lives, security, or livelihoods.
Nigeria’s experience, he shared, has demonstrated that displacement cannot be resolved simply by providing temporary shelter and relief materials.
Thus, he said emergency assistance is necessary, but a sustainable response must also enable displaced persons to return voluntarily and safely where conditions permit; integrate into communities where return is not feasible; or relocate voluntarily to another appropriate location.
He added that the necessary assistance includes recovering housing, land, and property; regaining livelihoods; accessing education, healthcare, and social services; obtaining civil documentation; participating in decisions affecting their future; and living in conditions of dignity, safety, and social inclusion.
Principal National Policies and Initiatives in Nigeria
He indicated that Nigeria approved its National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons in September 2021.
“The policy provides a national framework for preventing displacement, protecting internally displaced persons, and promoting durable solutions,” he said.
Similarly, he averred that Nigeria established the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction on 21st August 2026 to, among others, manage emergency relief operations and internally displaced persons’ response systems.
National and State-Level Durable Solutions
According to him, Nigeria has increasingly promoted state-led durable-solutions mechanisms, which led to the development of State Action Plans for Durable Solutions in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Benue States, reflecting an effort to move from emergency relief towards recovery, reintegration, and development.
National Livestock Transformation Plan
He also stated that a major component of Nigeria’s strategy for addressing farmer-herder tensions is livestock transformation.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), he said, was designed to modernize livestock production, improve animal health and productivity, strengthen value chains, and address some of the pressures associated with pastoral mobility.
Strategies for Addressing Farmer-Herder Conflicts
Prevention, he challenged, must begin before violence occurs. Nigeria is therefore strengthening approaches that involve conflict mapping, community intelligence, early-warning systems, and rapid response mechanisms.
“Traditional rulers, community leaders, security institutions, farmers’ organizations, pastoralist associations, women, youth, and civil society organizations should be integrated into early-warning systems,” he proposed.
The challenge before policymakers is consequently to address both the immediate causes of violence and the structural conditions that make conflict recurrent.
