The report said 408,257 Nigerians fled their homes due to prolonged Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgency in the North-East, which has persisted since 2009.
Niger Republic hosts the largest number of refugees, with 258,653 Nigerians mainly settled in the Diffa region near border communities such as Kuluk, Gashua and Machina. Cameroon follows with 126,892 refugees, most of them living in the Minawao camp in the Far North Region, while Chad hosts 21,636 refugees, largely in Lac Province.
Most of the displaced persons are from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, particularly communities including Banki, Pulka, Gwoza, Ngoshe and Maidagali, which have endured repeated insurgent attacks over the past decade.
Despite repatriation programmes by the Federal Government and affected states, returns have remained limited. UNHCR data show that 26,473 refugees returned to Nigeria in 2025, bringing the total number of returnees since 2019 to 131,815.
In February 2025, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum signed a tripartite agreement with Chad to facilitate the voluntary return of 7,790 refugees, while earlier agreements with Cameroon enabled the return of over 5,000 Nigerians between 2021 and 2024.
However, the UNHCR said renewed insecurity continues to discourage mass returns, as ISWAP intensified attacks in 2025, overrunning military bases, displacing resettled civilians and increasing fatalities across affected states.
The crisis persists amid a wider displacement challenge in Nigeria, with about 3.5 million internally displaced persons nationwide, including 2.3 million in the North-East, while many refugees remain reluctant to return due to fears of renewed violence.
