Nearly 64,000 Nigerians have crossed into Niger this year, and the UN refugee agency says the money to look after them is running out.
Behind the headlines about attacks in northern Nigeria are families who have simply packed what they can carry and walked across the border. On Tuesday, November 10, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, said it needs $2 million urgently to help Nigerians who have fled violence into the neighboring countries of Niger and Benin.
The number of people on the move are large and still growing. UNHCR says nearly 64,000 Nigerians have fled to Niger since the start of 2026, with several hundred more reaching Benin. Some regional reports citing UNHCR figures, put the combined total for both countries at more than 66,000 and say arrivals are about three times higher than at the same point last year.
In summary, UNHCR wants $2 million for immediate, life-saving needs between November 2026 and January 2027. This sits inside a bigger request of $11.4 million to scale up its response across Niger, Nigeria and Benin. What the $2 million is for: water, food, shelter, health care and registration of new arrivals, according to the UN. Where they are: mostly in Niger’s border regions of Diffa (south-east) and Tahoua (west).
Niger is taking in most of the new arrivals. Diffa alone has received more than 23,000 people since January, and over two-thirds of them are children. In October alone, about 1,200 Nigerians crossed into Diffa and another 3,400 into Tahoua. Regional reports say Tahoua recorded roughly 36,300 arrivals in just two months by mid-October.
Niger was already stretched before this wave. It hosts more than 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including about 327,500 Nigerians. UNHCR also warns that Diffa is a dangerous place to host people in need: more than 70% of the security incidents reported in Niger this year happened there. The agency praised Niger’s authorities and host communities, who have given land for temporary shelters.
In Benin, Nigerians are still arriving in border areas, adding pressure on communities and services that are already under strain. As of August 31, 2026, Benin had about 86,000 forcibly displaced people, including more than 42,000 who had been uprooted inside the country, according to the FEWS NET monitoring network.
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