ABUJA — In a decisive move to address one of Nigeria’s most enduring humanitarian shadows, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially signed the Kampala Convention into law, providing a robust legal shield for the millions of citizens displaced by conflict and disaster.
The legislation, formally titled the “Act to Give Effect to the Provisions of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria,” received presidential assent in February 2026. The move marks the final step in domesticating the African Union’s landmark 2009 treaty, effectively moving the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from mere policy snapshots into enforceable Nigerian law.
For over a decade, Nigeria has been gripped by a displacement crisis fueled by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, rampant banditry in the Northwest, and intensifying farmer-herder clashes across the Middle Belt. These crises, compounded by devastating seasonal flooding, have left millions languishing in overcrowded, informal camps characterized by hunger, disease, and a lack of basic security.
By signing this bill, President Tinubu has shifted the government’s approach from discretionary aid to a mandatory legal framework. The Act aims to tackle the socio-economic and security triggers that force families from their homes, ensure that IDPs are treated with the dignity guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, Clearly define the roles of “competent authorities” (government agencies) and non-state actors in providing aid and Implement specific protections for women and children, who often bear the brunt of displacement.
From Kampala to Abuja: A 17-Year Journey
While Nigeria was among the 32 African Union nations that originally launched the ratification process in Kampala in 2009, the full domestication of the treaty had remained in legislative limbo for years. The newly signed law finally aligns Nigeria with continental peers like Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia in establishing a comprehensive national response to internal displacement.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, lauded the President’s action, noting that the new law “gives a human face” to the suffering of those in the camps.
“We must work together to address the humanitarian crisis and provide durable solutions,” Kalu stated. “The international community is also called upon to partner with Nigeria in addressing the root causes of displacement.”
The Road Ahead: Implementation
The domestication of the Kampala Convention is seen as a pivotal victory for human rights advocates who have long argued that IDPs in Nigeria lack a clear legal path to seek redress or demand better living conditions.
With the President’s signature, the focus now shifts to the “competent authorities” tasked with cleaning up overcrowded shelters and ensuring that access to healthcare and education is no longer a luxury for the displaced, but a statutory right.
