The United Nations has raised alarm over the growing risk of landmine explosions facing displaced Nigerians returning to their communities, as makeshift camps shut down and families move back to areas still contaminated with explosive remnants of war.
Speaking during a UN meeting on landmine action in Geneva on Wednesday, experts cautioned that dwindling resources in Nigeria and Afghanistan had left civilians dangerously exposed to unexploded ordnance. They stressed that mine action is not merely a post-conflict recovery programme but an urgent humanitarian intervention critical to saving lives.
Edwin Faigmane, Chief of the Mine Action Programme representing the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Nigeria, said returnees were walking into “grave danger” in several parts of the country.
“Returnees in Nigeria are facing significant risks,” Faigmane warned. “Eighty per cent of all civilian casualties have occurred in 11 out of the 15 areas where people are returning.”
According to him, the UN has been training security personnel, police officers and civil defence officials on risk awareness, especially in unstable and hard-to-reach locations. The effort, he said, is already yielding results.
“We’ve begun receiving reports from police and community members identifying suspicious items,” Faigmane noted. “They are alerting village leaders, who then inform security agencies. This is exactly the kind of early reporting that saves lives.”
The Geneva meeting also highlighted the alarming rate of child casualties in Afghanistan. Data from the UN-partnered Landmine Monitor report revealed that children accounted for 77 per cent of all explosive-related deaths and injuries in the country in 2024.
“Children—mostly boys tending sheep and goats—pick up or play with explosive remnants without knowing the danger,” said Nick Pond, head of mine action with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. “This has resulted in an average of 54 deaths every month.”
Pond added that despite the scale of the crisis, funding constraints had drastically reduced the number of deminers. “In 2011, we had 15,000 people working. Today, we have around 1,300. The need has grown, but the support has not.”
UNMAS Representative in Geneva, Christelle Loupforest, said the situation in Nigeria and Afghanistan was particularly troubling, warning that ongoing programmes risk being halted if donors fail to renew commitments.
“The reality is stark,” Loupforest said. “Our work in Afghanistan and Nigeria is at risk of suspension. Without immediate support, thousands will remain exposed to lethal hazards.”
She acknowledged that mine-clearance efforts in Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory had recently seen improved funding but stressed that more global attention was urgently needed.
“It is essential that the international community steps up,” she added. “Every delay puts more lives at risk.”
The UN emphasised that the goal of landmine action is not only to clear explosives but to ensure families—especially children—can return home safely without fear of hidden dangers beneath their feet.
