Attachments
Executive Summary
Nigeria does not lack dispute-resolution institutions. It lacks coherence between them.
Housing, land, property, and natural resource disputes are among the most persistent and destabilising challenges facing displacement-affected communities in northern and central Nigeria. These disputes are both a cause and a consequence of conflict, displacement, rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, and weak governance.
As of 2025, more than 3.4 million people remain internally displaced across central and northern Nigeria. Unresolved HLP disputes prevent safe return, local integration, and recovery. Women, IDPs, and other marginalised groups face disproportionate tenure insecurity and discriminatory outcomes.
This report argues that the central challenge is the lack of coherence, equity, procedural clarity, and follow-through across a labyrinthine ecosystem of institutions. Strengthening the system requires recognising natural complementarities between actors and supporting them to work to their comparative strengths rather than in isolation.