Trapped in Camps: Lived Experiences of Internally Displaced Persons in Bakassi and Dalori, Northeastern Nigeria

Internal displacement remains a persistent global crisis, drawing considerable attention from international stakeholders. In Nigeria, particularly in the northeastern region, internal displacement has been a recurring challenge since 2009. Despite the scale and longevity of this crisis, limited empirical scholarship has examined how internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience and navigate displacement within camp settings over time. This study addresses this gap by exploring the lived experiences of IDPs across key phases of displacement, with particular attention to the challenges they face within camp environments in northeastern Nigeria. Drawing on qualitative case studies of Bakassi and Dalori IDP camps in Maiduguri, the research adopts a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, complemented by secondary sources. Findings reveal that armed insurgency, closely intertwined with state fragility and governance failures, remains the primary driver of displacement, while institutional neglect and, in some cases, complicity by state actors have deepened IDPs’ vulnerabilities. Across different phases of displacement, IDPs experience persistent insecurity, gender-based violence, hunger, restricted mobility and limited access to justice, resulting in the erosion of their social, economic and political rights. While host communities initially demonstrate solidarity, prolonged displacement has generated resource pressures and social tensions, complicating everyday survival for both displaced and host populations. By centring IDPs’ voices and experiences, this study contributes to displacement scholarship by highlighting how camp-based displacement is lived, endured and negotiated over time. The findings underscore the need for context-sensitive interventions that address not only humanitarian needs but also the structural conditions sustaining protracted displacement.