The recent closure of all eight official displacement camps in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in conflict-torn northeast Nigeria, has led to a fresh wave of violence and displacement. More than 150,000 people who were relocated from their camps may now be forced to flee again due to the insecurity and lack of protection in their resettlement sites.
In mid-March, the situation intensified when insurgents abducted an unspecified number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had left their camps to gather firewood. Estimates suggest at least 200 IDPs were taken and only nine have returned.
Borno has witnessed a surge in violence between January and March, with 176 reported attacks on civilians, particularly targeting IDPs and returnees, and 195 incidents of abduction, kidnapping, and forced disappearance. This marks a significant increase compared to the same timeframe in 2023, which saw 71 incidents of civilians attacked by insurgents and three abduction events.
— Zubaida Baba-Ibrahim for The New Humanitarian, April 23 (excerpt)
See our last reports on this year’s mass abuctions.
Nigeria gunmen kill 25 in raids on northwest villages
At least 25 people were killed by gunmen in raids on four villages in northwest Nigeria, a region struggling with mass kidnappings and looting by criminal gangs. The attacks in Katsina State were reportedly in reprisal for military assaults on bandit hideouts. Most of the dead were village self-defense militia. (TNH)
Nigeria government detained girls who escaped Boko Haram: report
Girls and young women faced unlawful military detention after escaping captivity by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, human rights group Amnesty International reported June 10.
The report, “Help us build our lives,” is based on 126 interviews with girls and young women who suffered through abuses committed by both Boko Haram and the Nigerian authorities. Amnesty also accused the Nigerian government of not adequately supporting the women and girls who are now trying to rebuild their lives. (Jurist)
Nigeria: at least 18 killed in multiple suicide blasts
At least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of suicide bombings June 29 in northeastern Nigeria, including at a wedding and a funeral. Authorities said that three female attackers struck distinct locations in Gwoza, a bustling city in Borno state that has been the center of Islamist insurgency by Boko Haram over the past 15 years. The victims included children and pregnant women. Some Nigerian news outlets reported that at least 30 people had been killed. (NYT)