UN issues stark warning to Nigeria over rising insecurity

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued its starkest warning yet on Nigeria’s worsening security and food crisis, saying escalating insurgent attacks across the north are pushing hunger to levels “never seen before” and threatening stability across West Africa.

The alert follows the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis, which projects that nearly 35 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season – the highest figure ever recorded for the country. For perspective, that number is about the entire population of Ghana.

WFP says attacks across northern Nigeria have intensified throughout 2025, deepening an already fragile situation. The al-Qaeda–linked JNIM reportedly carried out its first attack in Nigeria last month, marking a worrying expansion of Sahel-based militancy into the country.

At the same time, ISWAP and Boko Haram continue their push across the region, while other incidents, including the killing of a brigadier general in the northeast and a string of assaults on public schools where teachers and hundreds of schoolgirls remain missing, highlight a steady resurgence of extremist violence.

“Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director in Nigeria.

“If we can’t keep families fed and food insecurity at bay, growing desperation could fuel increased instability with insurgent groups exploiting hunger to expand their influence, creating a security threat that extends across West Africa and beyond.”

A Crisis Years in the Making

Northern Nigeria is now facing its worst hunger crisis in a decade, a culmination of conflict, climate shocks, rising food prices, and a prolonged economic downturn. Rural farming communities – already crippled by restricted access to farmlands due to insecurity – are the hardest hit.

Nearly six million people across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe are projected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse between June and August 2026. Within Borno alone, 15,000 people are expected to slide into Phase 5 catastrophic hunger, the closest classification to famine.

Children are at greatest risk in Borno, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, where acute malnutrition rates are surging.

Funding Collapse Deepens the Emergency

Despite rising needs, funding for humanitarian operations has shrunk sharply. In July, WFP was forced to scale down its nutrition programmes in the northeast, affecting more than 300,000 children. In places where clinics have shut down, malnutrition has worsened from “serious” to “critical.”

WFP warns it will run out of resources for emergency food and nutrition assistance by December. Nearly one million people in the northeast rely on WFP support; without urgent donor funding, millions more could be left without help in 2026.

Nigeria’s insecurity, from mass kidnappings to extremist attacks and spreading banditry, has already disrupted farming, trade, and schooling. The UN now warns that hunger, if left unchecked, could become a new driver of conflict.

“This is a crisis the world cannot afford to ignore,” the agency said.