The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has disclosed that more than 138,000 people were displaced by insecurity and natural disasters in Katsina State between January 2025 and January 2026.

The IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Sharon Dimanche, disclosed this during a press conference and media parley held at the organisation’s branch office in Katsina, the state capital on Friday.

In her virtual presentation, Dimanche said 72,000 people were displaced in the state following floods, heavy rainfall and windstorms, while 60,000 others were forced out from their communities by armed banditry and kidnapping within the period under review.

She explained that the latest IOM assessment further revealed that Katsina has 181,000 internally displaced persons, making it one of the states with the highest number of displaced people in the North-West region of the country.

She said the assessment also recorded 37,000 returnees in Katsina, indicating that thousands of displaced residents are attempting to return to their communities despite persistent challenges in the state.

She added that the figures highlighted the multiple pressures facing vulnerable communities in Katsina, where conflict and climate-related disasters continue to disrupt livelihoods and social stability.

Dimanche, however, stressed that returning home was only the beginning of the recovery process, adding that returnees must be able to remain safely in their communities and rebuild their livelihoods.

She disclosed that across the North-West and North-Central regions, the number of internally displaced persons declined by five per cent between October 2025 and February 2026, while the number of returnees increased by five per cent.

“The question is not simply: Have they returned? The real question is: Can they stay? Can they rebuild their lives? Can they feel safe again?” the IOM chief asked.

She said the situation in Katsina and Zamfara states illustrated why peacebuilding and early-warning mechanisms were critical to reducing displacement across the states.

According to her, conflicts often have warning signs that, if detected and acted upon early, could prevent disputes from escalating into violence and forcing families to flee.

“When early warning works, the result may never make the news. A dispute is resolved. A farmer remains on his land. Children remain in school. A family does not have to flee,” Dimanche said.

She described such interventions as “peacebuilding in very practical terms,” stressing that preventing displacement was more sustainable than continually responding after communities had been uprooted.

Dimanche said IOM, through its Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience (CPCRR) Programme, Funded by the European Union and implemented in Katsina and Zamfara States, was strengthening peacebuilding, early warning and community resilience.

She explained that the interventions were designed to help communities identify emerging risks, strengthen local mechanisms for resolving disputes and enable stakeholders to act before tensions developed into full-scale crises. (Arise News)

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