WFP: Jihadist attacks fuel record hunger

RESURGENT jihadist attacks and instability in northern Nigeria are pushing hunger to unprecedented levels with thousands facing "famine-like conditions", the World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday.

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Nearly 35 million people in northern Nigeria are "projected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season", which stretches from May to September, the UN agency said in a statement.

In Borno state, the epicentre of the 16-year-long jihadist insurgency, around 15 000 people "are projected to reach catastrophic hunger" or "famine-like conditions", WFP said.

The conflict has killed more than 40 000 people and displaced around two million others in the northeast and spilled into neighbouring countries.

Besides Boko Haram in the northeast, Nigeria also suffers violence led by "bandit" gangs in the centre and northwest, which raid villages, kill people and kidnap for ransom.

Last week alone, Africa's most populous country experienced three mass kidnappings.