In a publication made by Reuters, it was posited that internally displaced persons are people forced to flee their homes but whom, unlike refugees, remain within their country’s borders. Refugees and internally displaced persons share many characteristics; however, those who are displaced within their own borders are not covered by international refugee law and are therefore particularly difficult to protect or to provide them with humanitarian assistance.
THE PLIGHT OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN NIGERIA
Internal displacement caused by both communal violence and internal armed conflict is a recurrent phenomenon in most states in Nigeria. The parties to the fighting have sought political, economic and social advantages in a country with endemic poverty, low levels of education and a huge and alienated youth population.
There are no clear figures of the current number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the country. Ad-hoc local registration exercises have hinted at the scale of displacement, but many people have sought shelter and support from family and friends and so have not been counted.
In 2009, increasingly bloody clashes between the army and militia members in the Niger Delta led to the displacement of thousands of people...read on at http://www.infodailies.com/the-pligh...ns-in-nigeria/