Internal Displacement in Nigeria and the Case for Human Rights Protection of Displaced Persons

Abstract

Millions all over the world are currently internally displaced as a result of various causes including forcible movements to inhospitable areas, civil wars in which villages have been destroyed, insurgency and ethnic persecution through government policies. Yet the plight of internally displaced persons is a problem that is not directly addressed by any international instrument or by domestic laws in the case of Nigeria, thereby contributing to the ad hoc nature of response strategy to such crises. The presence of internally displaced persons within national territory means that their own government bears primary responsibility for meeting their protection and assistance needs but in most cases, they are either unwilling or unable to guarantee the basic rights and minimum needs of their internally displaced persons. This paper evaluated internal displacement and IDPs from this perspective. It examined the challenges faced by IDPs in Nigeria, adequacy of mechanisms put in place to ensure the protection of IDPs in Nigeria and potential solutions to the problems faced by IDPs recognising existing deficiency in response strategy and protection hiatuses.

Keywords: Internal Displacement, Protection, Human Rights