EXPANDING THE FRONTIERS OF LEGAL PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Man right from creation has been a subject of violence and lives in violent situations. No wonder the book of Genesis 3:14-19 says that the Lord God cursed man after his fall. Over time man has witnessed different forms of calamities either from natural disasters or through armed conflicts.  Armed conflicts may take the form of insurgency, civil war, cold war, internal disturbances among others. This armed conflict has become a serious threat to global peace and security in 21stcentury, in that, it constitutes the highest contributor to humanitarian crises in the form of rise in human causalities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, food insecurity and the spread of various diseases. Since the end of the cold war, there has been a proliferation of humanitarian crisis known as a complex emergency. Most countries of the world had one time or the other experienced one form of armed conflict or the other, as the case maybe. Armed conflicts in most cases, occur as a result of several indicators such as poverty, social inequality, poor governance, state fragility with its dire consequences on the entire system of the nation as well as the people. However, at all-time international  organizations,  regional  and  national  governments  never  left  stones  unturned  in promulgating  and  enacting  conventions,  laws,  polices,  regulations  and  guiding  principles  in addressing  the  causesand  effects  of  refuge  and  displacement  resulting  from  armed  conflicts  or natural disasters. Whether the conventions, laws and policies made in this regard have achieved its  desired  aim,  is  a  different  question  altogether  which  will  be  dealt  with  in  due  course  in  this paper.  This  paper  takes  a  look  at  legal  protection  of  refugees  and  internally  displaced  persons during refuge and displacement period. The paperal so considers the guaranteed rights of refugees as  well  as  the  IDPs  in  their  host  nation  or  state.  The  paper  examines  the  causes  and  effects  of displacement and refuge on the victims. It also examines the institutional bodies responsible for the provision of aids to the victims of displacement or refuge. It further considers the challenges militating against the displaced persons and refugees whether in camps or not.  The paper finds that the laws of this has become obsolete in relation to the existing realities. It also finds that bad governance is usually the major cause of restiveness in people leading to armed conflict in a nation. The paper further finds a high and gross violation of the rights of IDPs and refugees. The paper as a matter of importance proffer well-reasoned recommendations.