Nearly 64,000 people have fled northern Nigeria for neighbouring Niger since January, the United Nations refugee agency said, as violence and insecurity continue to drive families across the border.
The numbers
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says nearly 64,000 people have crossed from northern Nigeria into Niger this year. The agency is seeking US$11.4 million for a response across Niger, Nigeria and Benin, including $2 million for immediate needs.
The arrivals are adding pressure to border communities in Niger that were already struggling with limited food, water and shelter. Displaced families face shortages of basic assistance, according to the agency’s briefing.
A wider Nigerian crisis
The refugee flow is one part of a wider displacement crisis in northern Nigeria, where armed groups and banditry have uprooted communities for years. The crossings into Niger have continued through 2026 even as Nigerian authorities have pressed ahead with security operations and, separately, with a $2 billion East-West super grid procurement and other infrastructure plans.
The briefing gave a single headline figure — nearly 64,000 crossings since January — without a breakdown by age, sex or destination, and without a figure for returns. The $11.4 million appeal is the agency’s ask for the response across Niger, Nigeria and Benin, and the $2 million immediate-needs slice is the part the agency says cannot wait. How much of the appeal has been pledged so far was not stated, and no timetable for the response was published with the figure.
What happens next
Aid agencies say the immediate priority is shelter, food and clean water for the new arrivals, many of whom reached Niger with little more than they could carry. The $11.4 million appeal covers the response across Niger, Nigeria and Benin, with $2 million earmarked for immediate needs — a figure that underlines how quickly the new arrivals have outstripped local capacity. The UNHCR figure covers only crossings into Niger since January; it does not count people displaced inside Nigeria, and no new national total was given in the latest briefing. How much of the appeal has been pledged so far was also not stated.
