The United Nations World Food Programme warned on Thursday that conflict in Nigeria’s north, together with shrinking humanitarian assistance, is driving a food crisis to levels not seen in nearly a decade.
It said recent data showed that more than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected states are experiencing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger.
"Across all of northern Nigeria we have been seeing an increase and spread in insurgent attacks and violence,” said Serigne Loum , WFP's Deputy Country Director in Nigeria.
“Families are being forced from their home and it's getting harder for WFP to access people who urgently need food assistance," he said.
Nigeria has been battling a jihadist insurgency centred in the north-east since 2009, with a resurgence in violence since 2025.
