Nigeria Is Destination Point For Fleeing Insurgents – NIIA Don, Otubanjo

It has been observed that insurgents fleeing other African conflicts are exploiting Nigeria’s vast, poorly governed spaces to establish criminal operations. 

“There are many places that have no presence of government. So, everybody can walk in and take over for a couple of times. And then, of course, at the end of the day, if government intervenes, those people will run away.”

A Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, (NIIA),  warned that Nigeria’s security crisis is being worsened by the internationalisation of terrorism, with armed groups displaced from conflicts across the Sahel and beyond now infiltrating the country.

Prof Olufemi Otubanjo spoke during an exclusive interview on _Frontline_, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, on Thursday, June 26, 2026.

Otubanjo pointed out that the threat had evolved beyond Boko Haram into a wider regional challenge involving cross-border armed networks.

“The problem is that insurgency has become so international. It used to be Boko Haram alone, but it looks like the insurgents are running away from different parts of the world, including Sudan. We are beginning to see Sudanese in Nigeria as bandits, coming to kidnap us.

Otubanjo also linked growing instability in the Sahel to climate change, citing desert encroachment, loss of farmland and collapsed livelihoods.

“We don’t know how much climate change is creating havoc in terms of population and livelihood. A lot of people have lost their homes.

 “They have lost their jobs because the sand dunes have taken over their villages and communities. They are taking over their farms. And they are moving down,” he said.

He cautioned against profiling all northern migrants as security threats, stressing that many are economic refugees fleeing hopelessness.