Developing a Refugee and Asylum Seeker Data System for Northern Nigerian States

Northern Nigerian states host significant populations of refugees and asylum seekers from Niger Republic, Chad, and Cameroon whose demographic characteristics and welfare needs are inadequately documented by current data systems. This study developed a refugee and asylum seeker data management system for three northern border states: Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. A professional system design methodology was applied, incorporating structured consultations with 14 UNHCR Nigeria staff, 12 National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons officials, and 8 state government officials, alongside review of UNHCR ProGres v4 refugee registration system documentation and IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix methodology. Assessment confirmed that refugee registration was complete in UNHCR camps but covered only an estimated 42 percent of self-settled and out-of-camp refugees. Vital events among refugee populations (births, deaths, family changes) were rarely updated in registration systems. The system designed specifies a biometric registration component compatible with ProGres, a vital events notification mechanism linked to NCFRMI state offices, a quarterly demographic profiling module, and data sharing protocols between UNHCR, NCFRMI, and state emergency management agencies. Expert review by nine refugee data and protection specialists confirmed the system's technical and legal adequacy. Recommendations include UNHCR funding system hardware deployment, NCFRMI training of state-level data focal persons, and aligning the system with Nigeria's Refugee Act implementation framework.

Keywords: refugee data system, northern Nigeria, UNHCR, NCFRMI, asylum seekers