Examining the Research Gap in Climate Change-Induced Population Displacement in North East Nigeria

Climate change contributes to population displacement through drought, flooding, and land degradation, yet the relative contribution of environmental drivers versus security drivers to displacement in North East Nigeria remains empirically undercharacterised. This study examined the research gap in climate-induced displacement in North East Nigeria through systematic review and original primary research. A systematic scoping review of ten databases identified 31 publications from 2018 to 2024 on climate displacement in Nigeria, of which only 8 used mixed methods to disentangle security and environmental displacement drivers and only 4 presented North East Nigeria-specific empirical data. Original research applied a structured survey to 320 displaced households in Borno and Adamawa States, assessing self-reported primary displacement driver, environmental hazard exposure history, conflict exposure, and displacement destination choice. Thirty-one percent of surveyed displacement events were attributed primarily to environmental hazards (drought-driven livelihood failure, flooding), independent of security drivers. Environmental displacement was significantly more prevalent in northern Borno LGAs bordering the Sahel than in southern LGAs. Climate-displaced households showed lower asset wealth and longer displacement duration than conflict-displaced households. The study identifies four research gaps including the absence of a Climate-Conflict Displacement Attribution Model for Nigeria, and recommends NEMA integrate climate displacement indicators into its IDP monitoring framework and support longitudinal research tracking climate displacement outcomes.

Keywords: climate displacement, North East Nigeria, environmental migration, Borno State, displacement drivers