CORN to Dialogue on Violence and Displacement in North Central Nigeria
By Nigeria Frontline News - NFNews
The Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN West Africa) will on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, hold a virtual dialogue to address the worsening security and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s North Central region.
The two-hour webinar will focus on displacement, human security, and practical peacebuilding in communities across Benue, Plateau, and Nasarawa states.
In villages scattered across the North Central, the rumble of armed motorcycles and the crack of rifles have become routine.
Residents recount midnight raids where homes are set ablaze, families slaughtered, and survivors forced to flee into the bush.
In June, the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State was devastated when armed assailants massacred an estimated 100 people, leaving charred homes, shattered livelihoods, and a wave of displacement.
Earlier in April, also, Plateau State recorded the deaths of more than 40 people in Zike village following a violent assault by gunmen on motorbikes.
That same month, over 52 people were killed and nearly 2,000 displaced in fresh clashes across other parts of the state.
Such violence, largely tied to farmer-herder conflicts, has plagued the Middle Belt region for years, claiming more than 19,000 lives since 1999 and uprooting hundreds of thousands of people.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as of February 2025, more than 1.3 million people were internally displaced across the North Central and North West regions of Nigeria, with Benue, Plateau, and Nasarawa among the hardest hit.
Nationwide, the figure of internally displaced persons now exceeds 2.3 million, with nearly 300,000 new displacements in 2024 alone linked directly to conflict and violence.
Countless families now live in temporary camps or with host communities, facing food shortages, economic hardship, and the uncertainty of when it will be safe to return home.
The dialogue, according to CORN West Africa, will dissect the root causes of this violence, from land-use disputes and governance deficits to the proliferation of non-state armed groups.
It will also highlight community-led survival strategies and propose inclusive solutions to restore peace and security in the region.
Speakers include Ms. Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, founder of Sesor Empowerment Foundation in Lagos, who will spotlight the experiences of displaced persons and vulnerable groups; Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Abuja, who will examine policy options for peacebuilding; and Prof. Suchi Musa Plangshak of the University of Jos, who will analyse the impact of non-state armed actors in shaping insecurity.
Also billed to speak is Prof. Albert Chukwuma Okoli of the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, who will explore the imperatives of governance and statecraft in addressing persistent violence.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Executive Director of CORN West Africa, Dr..Felix Allison, said the webinar is part of the organisation’s efforts to shape policy responses and renew the call to action to address the needless humanitarian crisis in the North Central region.
The dialogue is expected to generate evidence-based policy recommendations for government, development partners, and civil society actors, while laying the foundation for long-term advocacy, peacebuilding innovations, and structural reforms that can protect vulnerable communities and break the cycle of violence.
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