The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that conflict in northern Nigeria, together with shrinking humanitarian assistance, is driving a food crisis to levels not seen in nearly a decade.

It said recent data showed that more than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected states are experiencing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger.

“Across all of northern Nigeria we have been seeing an increase and spread in insurgent attacks and violence,” said Serigne Loum, WFP’s Deputy Country Director in Nigeria.

“Families are being forced from their home and it’s getting harder for WFP to access people who urgently need food assistance,” he said.

Nigeria has been battling a jihadist insurgency centred in the north-east since 2009, with a resurgence in violence since 2025.

Jihadists have also been expanding into the north-west, which is already facing a separate, overlapping crisis from armed “bandit” gangs.

The WFP said the expanding conflict is forcing more people from farmland, driving displacement, and restricting humanitarian access.

Aid cuts under US President Donald Trump and other western countries have hit some of Nigeria’s poorest households in recent years.

Habiba, a displaced mother with a young baby in Borno States, said sometimes they do not get food “for two nights” while occasionally they get only one meal.

“And when children keep going hungry, it’s hard to be with them awake with nothing. That’s how I gave birth to this baby, in this situation of total lack,” she said.

The WFP said that, at the same time, the number of locations inaccessible to its frontline staff has doubled while cargo movements along major routes are increasingly disrupted by attacks and illegal checkpoints.

It said the suspension of food assistance is driving people towards desperate coping strategies, including cases of individuals joining armed groups in search of food or income.

In some camps, the lack of food aid due to funding shortfalls has triggered an alarming escalation in exploitation and gender-based harm that is particularly impacting women and children.

The WFP said it needs $89 million over the next six months to continue food and nutrition assistance across northern Nigeria before hunger deepens further.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, says the borrowing policy of the Federal government is not immoral, stating that debt should be viewed as a strategic financial tool for economic growth rather than a moral failing.

Oyedele stated this on Tuesday at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN), advocating the establishment of a dedicated Commercial Dispute Resolution Tribunal to fast-track the resolution of business disputes and improve Nigeria’s investment climate.

He argued that public criticism of government borrowing often ignores the more critical issue of how borrowed funds are utilised.

The minister added that the key consideration is not the size of a country’s debt but whether borrowed funds are invested in productive ventures capable of generating returns that exceed the cost of borrowing.

“The Federal government’s borrowing is not immoral. In much of our public discourse, debt is spoken of as a moral failing rather than a financial instrument.

“The relevant question is never simply how much debt. It is always debt for what, at what cost, against what return, and repaid on what terms,” he said.

According to him, governments, businesses and individuals should embrace responsible borrowing when it is used to finance productive investments, warning that refusing to borrow under such circumstances amounts to a missed economic opportunity.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Saturday, alleged that the Federal High Court ruling nullifying the recognition of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) as a political party is part of a growing assault on Nigeria’s democracy.

The opposition party warned that the Lokoja court’s decision reflects a broader pattern of legal and administrative actions aimed at weakening opposition parties and shrinking the democratic space ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a statement, its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the cumulative effect of such actions would be to undermine political competition and entrench those already in power.

“The cumulative effect of these attacks is unmistakable: they weaken the opposition, narrow the democratic space and strengthen the hands of those already in power. This is not how a healthy democracy functions,” the statement said.

The party argued that the ruling’s implications extend beyond the NDC, warning that prolonged legal battles involving opposition parties could deny Nigerians meaningful political choices.

It also accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of failing to provide a level playing field for all political parties, insisting that democracy can only flourish where institutions remain impartial and political actors are treated fairly.

“This has not been the case under the Bola Tinubu administration,” the ADC alleged.

The party urged the judiciary to safeguard its independence as the country approaches another election cycle, stressing that public confidence in the courts is critical to the credibility of the democratic process.

“The judiciary remains one of the last lines of defence for our democracy and must never be perceived as an arena where political battles are settled on behalf of those who wield executive power. Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC further warned that any perception of judicial bias in politically sensitive cases could erode public trust in constitutional democracy and the electoral process.

It called on opposition parties, civil society organisations, organised labour, the media, legal practitioners and Nigerians to unite in defending democratic institutions and protecting the country’s multi-party system.

According to the party, attempts to intimidate or weaken opposition voices threaten constitutional rights, including freedom of association and political participation.

“Yesterday’s target was the NDC. Tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to offer Nigerians an alternative. We must not wait until the democratic space has been completely suffocated before we act,” the statement added.

The ADC reaffirmed its commitment to defending Nigeria’s democratic values and preserving a competitive multi-party political system.