Abstract
This paper sets out to evaluate how displacement impacts on migration in Nigeria. Displaced persons ordinarily suffer from severe deprivations and precarious living conditions; the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic without doubt, worked even more grave hardships on the community of the displaced. This paper ventures into the effects/challenges brought upon displaced persons with regards to the enjoyment and enforcement of human rights and the ability of such persons to abide by the restrictions and regulations guiding conduct of persons during the pandemic. It considers the factors causing displacement and argues that the living conditions of displaced persons leaves them with no option but to disregard the regulations consequent upon the failure of government to put in place enabling conditions that will engender respect and obedience to the regulations. The paper adopts the doctrinal approach and examines the regulations on internally displaced persons (IDPs) through reliance on relevant laws in Nigeria, data collection and existing literature. The paper concludes among others that there is the need for a national legal framework specifically for internally displaced persons that will cater for prevention and management of internal displacement in Nigeria as against the provision of a national policy.
Highlights
The challenge of internal displacement and migration is global and has been with humanity from very early times. [1] Giustiniani at the end of the cold war, there was an upsurge in the number of displaced persons alongside varying degrees of human rights infractions. [2] Internal displacement is more acutely felt in Africa as a result of the wars and violence that has dogged her history. [3] Sub-Saharan Africa hosts some of the largest protracted displacement crises in the world. [4] Emerging conflicts and the effects of climate change forced millions of people to flee from some African states in the year 2020, but many of these crises are overlooked and underfunded
International Journal of Law and Society 2021; 4(3): 169-176 which, the drivers can be diverse, involves force, compulsion or coercion’. [17] A combined reading of the above definitions makes it obvious that displacement can lead to migration, and in a sense, migrants can be displaced persons who have found themselves in another region of the country due to push factors beyond their control and have not crossed international borders
As already discussed in the preceding segments of this paper, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are a vulnerable group in the society who already are confronted with a number of existential challenges, ranging from poor makeshift shelters, characterized by overcrowding which impacts greatly on the privacy of IDPs and enjoyment of family life, food and water insecurities, security challenges, exposure of the women to sexual and other forms of abuse, psychological trauma occasion by estrangement from family and loved ones, lack of access of children and young persons to proper education, social relations tensions, economic strangulation among others
Summary
The challenge of internal displacement and migration is global and has been with humanity from very early times. [1] Giustiniani at the end of the cold war, there was an upsurge in the number of displaced persons alongside varying degrees of human rights infractions. [2] Internal displacement is more acutely felt in Africa as a result of the wars and violence that has dogged her history. [3] Sub-Saharan Africa hosts some of the largest protracted displacement crises in the world. [4] Emerging conflicts and the effects of climate change forced millions of people to flee from some African states in the year 2020, but many of these crises are overlooked and underfunded. Nigeria is currently placed as one of the top ten countries with the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to conflict - more than in any other African country, ranking fifth with an estimated over 700,000 in 2015 alone. Alero Toju Akujobi and Ufuoma Veronica Awhefeada: Migration and Displacement: Legal Constraints of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria violence. They suffer from gross violations of their human rights and are deprived of the basic necessities of life. The study observes that IDPs are likely to suffer violation of their human rights within their own country without having any legal or institutional provisions to claim assistance as there is no legal framework in place where they can resort to as a basis for legal remedy
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