- Bandits displaced 484 people, including 271 children, after attacking a Zamfara community
- The IOM said food, shelter and relief materials are urgently needed for victims
- The agency warned that insecurity and climate pressures continue to fuel displacement in the North West
At least 271 children were among the 484 people displaced after armed bandits attacked communities in Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State on June 15, 2026, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Eko Hot Blog gathered that the report showed that 484 people from 101 households fled their homes, with children making up more than half of those affected by the attack.
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The findings are contained in Flash Report 291 on Population Displacement, released on June 25, alongside the Displacement Tracking Matrix’s Transhumance Tracking Tool Dashboard 20, which monitored migration activities across Katsina and Zamfara states during May 2026.
The latest incident has pushed the number of internally displaced persons in Nigeria’s North-West to more than 794,000, following the displacement of over 143,000 people between December 2025 and June 2026.
Earlier data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also indicated that at least 8,521 people fled violence in the North-West and North-East to neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad during the same period.
According to the IOM, residents escaped from Gamo Gidan Bita in Birnin Magaji Ward to Ubandawaki in Magaji Gari Ward after the June 15 assault.
The agency activated its rapid response assessment on June 16, in line with its 72-hour emergency response protocol.
It described the attack as part of the persistent insecurity affecting the North-West, where long-standing disputes involving farmers, herders, ethnic groups and religious communities have continued to fuel violence.
Of the 484 displaced persons, 271 were children, 129 were women and 84 were men. Women and girls accounted for about 60 per cent of the displaced population, while males made up the remaining 40 per cent.
The report further revealed that girls aged six to 12 represented the largest group among the displaced children.
Women between the ages of 18 and 59 accounted for one-quarter of the displaced population, while adult men within the same age bracket made up 16 per cent. Infants younger than one year were also among those displaced.
The attack claimed three lives and left two others injured, bringing the total number of casualties to five.
According to the assessment, all affected households urgently require food, shelter and essential non-food relief materials.
Bandit attacks have continued to devastate communities across Zamfara and other North-West states since 2011. What began as clashes between farmers and herders has developed into widespread armed criminal activities affecting Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Data referenced by Human Rights Watch from SBM Intelligence showed that Zamfara recorded 1,203 kidnapping incidents between July 2024 and June 2025, the highest in Nigeria. Kaduna recorded 629 cases, while Katsina reported 566, with 4,722 kidnappings documented nationwide during the period.
As of early 2026, Zamfara’s internally displaced population had risen to 279,224, reflecting an increase of more than 74,000 people compared to the previous reporting period. In neighbouring Katsina State, separate IOM figures showed that attacks displaced 3,830 people from 517 households between May 21 and June 1.
The IOM’s Transhumance Tracking Tool also reported that 388 herders moved 10,572 livestock across Katsina and Zamfara during May 2026. The animals included 6,527 cattle, 2,205 sheep, 1,303 goats and 537 other livestock.
Zamfara ranked as Nigeria’s third-largest destination for livestock migration during the period, receiving 1,528 animals, while the Kaduna–Zamfara route recorded the highest level of livestock movement.
The agency attributed the increasing migration and conflicts to environmental pressures such as desertification, climate change, inadequate rainfall and rapid population growth, all of which continue to intensify competition over land and water resources across the North-West.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls or text messages before the report was filed.
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