The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has raised the alarm over the mounting danger to Nigerians returning to their communities after displacement. As many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) prepare to leave camps following closures or decongestion, UNMAS warns that vast tracts of land remain contaminated by hidden explosive devices, putting returnees at grave risk. Experts at a recent international landmine-action meeting in Geneva described the hazard not as a distant legacy issue but as a pressing humanitarian emergency.
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Hidden Threats Lurk in Returning Nigerian Communities
Returning to liberated towns and villages may feel like hope realised for many who fled violence. Yet the journey back comes with an invisible menace. According to the UNMAS Chief of Mine Action Programme, Edwin Faigmane, a large proportion of civilian casualties are concentrated in the zones where returnees resettle, 80 per cent of such casualties occurred in 11 out of 15 designated areas of return.
These are not old or conventional landmines alone but often improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance left behind by years of conflict involving non-state armed groups. Vehicles driving on former roads, farmers returning to till old fields, and children wandering in the countryside can inadvertently trigger these explosives. The danger remains especially acute in parts of north-east Nigeria, where fighting once displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Thousands Already Affected, Many More At Risk
Across the north-east, particularly in the states of Borno, Adamawa State and Yobe State, the toll from explosive remnants has been staggering. Between January 2016 and August 2020, the charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG) documented 1,052 casualties arising from 697 accidents involving landmines and unexploded bombs.
These figures are almost certainly underestimates; many incidents likely go unreported, especially in remote or inaccessible regions. MAG notes that actual casualty numbers may be substantially higher than recorded. Even so, these numbers place Nigeria among the top five countries worldwide for landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties.
Compounding the danger, children have frequently fallen victim to these hazards, sometimes mistaking explosive fragments for scrap metal or toys.
Apart from the immediate risk to life and limb, this contamination undermines efforts to rebuild livelihoods. Land contaminated by explosives cannot be farmed, infrastructure cannot be rebuilt safely, and communities remain trapped in limbo, unable to restore normalcy.
Clearing Mines Remains Key to Safe Return
Given this bleak picture, UNMAS emphasises that “mine-action” must not be viewed as a long-term reconstruction task alone. Rather, it must be treated as an emergency humanitarian measure.
To that end, UNMAS has trained security personnel — including police and civil defence officers — in “risk education,” particularly in unstable and hard-to-reach communities. This includes teaching people how to identify suspicious objects, encouraging timely reporting to local authorities, and coordinating with military teams for safe removal. These efforts have already led to reports from communities where potential explosive items were found and confiscated, averting further tragedies.
International support remains crucial. Donor funding helps sustain these activities, which include public awareness campaigns, technical demining operations, and protective measures for civilians and humanitarian workers. Without renewed commitments, experts warn that the fragile ground on which displaced Nigerians seek to rebuild their lives may remain perilous.
Hope and Warning as Communities Attempt to Rebuild
For many IDPs, returning home carries bittersweet emotions — joy of reconnection, fear of the unknown. UNMAS’s warning offers a stark reminder that safety cannot be presumed. While landmine clearance and risk education are underway, the path home must be trodden with caution.
Families returning to former homes are urged to resist haste. Community leaders and authorities must coordinate closely with mine-action teams. Children must be taught the dangers of playing near suspicious objects or collecting metal scraps. Only with vigilance, support, and sustained clearance efforts can displaced Nigerians hope to truly reclaim their homes and livelihoods.
As Nigeria works towards stability and recovery, the invisible legacy of conflict in the form of landmines remains a threat long after violence has receded. Removing this hazard is not optional but essential for a dignified, lasting return.
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