The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has raised the alarm over rising instability in Northern Nigeria, warning that nearly 35 million people could experience severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season—the highest figure ever recorded in the country.
The warning comes after the release of the latest Cadre Harmonisé, a regional food security analysis that assesses the severity of hunger. The report highlights escalating attacks by insurgent groups, including Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), whose expansion across the Sahel intensified throughout 2025.
WFP Country Director in Nigeria, David Stevenson, said Northern Nigeria is facing its worst hunger crisis in a decade, with rural farming communities hardest hit. He noted that nearly six million people in conflict-affected areas of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are projected to face crisis-level hunger or worse during the 2026 lean season, which spans June to August.
Stevenson added that around 15,000 people in Borno could confront catastrophic hunger, reaching Phase 5 famine-like conditions, marking an urgent call for humanitarian intervention.
