President Tinubu Signs Bill Domesticating 2009 Kampala Convention for IDPs

Citizens have received official confirmation concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signing into law the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), also known as the Kampala Convention treaty. 

The Kampala convention is ‘to provide durable solutions to situations of internally displaced persons,’ a legal framework propagated and adopted by 32 countries, including Nigeria, at the African Union’s Special Summit held on October 23, 2009. However, it was only recently domesticated in February by the President. 

The Bill had received assent at the Senate and the House of Representatives. At the latter, the “Act to Give Effect to the Provisions of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria; and for Related Matters,” was chiefly sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, with Hons. Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi, Blessing Onuh, Nasiru Shehu, Fleix Uche Nwaeke, Steve Fatoba, and Khadijat Bukar Ibrahim, serving as co-sponsors. 

Deputy Speaker Hon. Kalu praised the President for his decision and urged stakeholders to support implementation of the Act. 

The Convention’s treaty is aimed at eliminating the root cause of internal displacement, with the dictates of the Constitution and national and international security apparatuses playing a key role. 

In alignment with the treaty, which entered into force on December 6, 2012, the domestication involves an all-encompassing legal framework for prevention, regulation, welfare, and protection with regard to Nigeria’s burgeoning IDP population. 

With this executive action, Nigeria joins other African countries like Niger and Chad who have domesticated the Kampala convention, with neighboring  Cameroon also in the process of domestication. Other countries like Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Mali are in the process of adapting it  into their national frameworks. 

This announcement is part of efforts by the Federal Government to address the aftermath of the insecurity crisis rocking the North-East and extending to several other regions; manifestations of the longstanding insurgency across the Sahel region. The legislation would see government agencies, state authorities, Non-Governmental humanitarian actors, and other stakeholders, better prepared to handle long-term rehabilitation and assistance for IDPs across the country. 

In the last nine years, Nigeria has witnessed a roughly 120% spike in IDPS, with a West-Africa high figure of 8.1 million in July 2025. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that by the end of 2024, Nigeria hosted refugees and asylum-seekers from 41 different countries, alongside its own IDP challenge, which signalled a need for enhanced protection standards, improved access to jobs and livelihoods, access to education, healthcare, and social services, among others. This points to the relevance of the Bill at this time. 

That said, beyond passing the Act, it remains to be seen what practical steps are taken to ensure its success. This is even as major publications have applauded the efforts, without due consideration for the timeline of implementation and possible lapses, as has been the norm with the current administration.