Banditry, armed group activity and inter-communal violence have forced more than 181,500 people from their homes in Sokoto State in northwest Nigeria, and many have sought refuge in the state capital, Sokoto town. Until now, there has been no representative evidence on how these internally displaced persons (IDPs) are faring compared to their host neighbours. To close this gap, the Sokoto State Bureau of Statistics (SBS), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) carried out the first representative Durable Solutions analysis for Sokoto town, working with Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics. The household survey took place in November 2025 across Sokoto North and Sokoto South, as part of the EU-funded EU-SPADS project, with support from ECHO and DANIDA. It compares IDPs and host community residents on ten topics, including livelihoods, housing and land, food security, access to services, and the protection of children and youth. The findings point to specific gaps that IDPs face, such as lack of assets, insecure housing and loss of farmland, alongside deep poverty shared by both groups. The report gives the government, donors and aid agencies evidence to plan a twin-track response to support local integration.
—–
This publication as well as JIPS’ overall support in Nigeria was made possible through the generous co-funding and multi-donor partnership with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the European Commission, and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).
