Abstract
Armed banditry, kidnapping and forced displacement increasingly disrupt educational access in Northwest Nigeria, yet evidence on how changing conflict exposure affects schooling at subnational level remains fragmented. The study examined conflict exposure, forced displacement and educational disruption in Sokoto State from June 2019 to January 2026. Guided by a cumulative conflict-exposure perspective and a two-sided displacementpressure framework, the study employed a spatiotemporal secondary-data design. Evidence was synthesized from International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix reports, UNICEF education and safe-school monitoring, National Bureau of Statistics/UNICEF household data, federal policy documents and peer-reviewed literature. Findings show recurrent and spatially uneven exposure, with Isa, Sabon Birni, Wurno and other local government areas repeatedly affected. By February 2025, Sokoto hosted an estimated 99,729 internally displaced persons, while seven schools were reported closed because of insecurity in 2024 and school premises were used as displacement shelters. January 2026 attacks across Isa, Wurno and Sabon Birni affected 17,797 people, including 9,966 children. The study concluded that displacement simultaneously depletes educational capacity in communities of origin and compresses capacity in receiving areas. It recommended hotspot-based early warning, protected learning spaces, crossLGA learner tracking, surge support for receiving schools, flexible educationcontinuity pathways and integration of displacement data with education planning.
2025-12-31
Vol. 2 Issue No. 1 December 2025
Articles
Conflict exposure, forced displacement, educational school disruption, Sokoto State
Vol. 2 Issue No. 1 December 2025
/ ArticleCONFLICT EXPOSURE, FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND THE EROSION OF EDUCATIONAL ACCESS IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA
BALA, IBRAHIM UMAR
Department of General Studies, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State
ibrahimbalaumar@fcegm.edu.ng
JEGO, PETER
Department of General Studies, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State
DANMALI, SANUSI SANI
Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State