Formulating legal and policy frameworks for the protection of internally displaced persons in Nigeria: a case study of internal conflicts in Jos, plateau state

Displacement triggered by internal conflict is a common phenomenon in Nigeria. It is rampant without boundary and has impacted every part of the country. This study examines the occurrence of internal crises in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria which consist of ethno-religious and political conflicts as case study I and bomb related violence as case study II respectively in the structure of three stages namely, pre-displacement, displacement and post-displacement. This study aims to probe into how and why internal displacement occurred in the research area and examines international law
such as refugee law, humanitarian law, human rights law and criminal law as well as Nigerian domestic laws such as constitutional law, land law and criminal law governing internal displacement. This study also involves comparative study of law
and practice in two foreign powers, namely Sri Lanka and Uganda which face the same challenges as experienced by Nigeria to acquire some insights. Being a socio-legal research and evidently qualitative in nature and guided by the research objectives and questions, the study adopts case study strategy in probing the issues and the problems. Primary data were gathered through in-depth interview with internally displaced
persons, public officials and legal experts, observations, and official documents. Secondary data were collected through journal articles, newspapers and internet sources. This study finds among others, that the contradictions in the Nigerian Constitution, its biasness and erroneous interpretations have been arbitrarily used to
provoke ethnic animosity between the natives and the settlers in the research area in addition to a number of loopholes identified in the legal frameworks relating to internally displaced persons in Nigeria. This study proposes a reassessment made to the both of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution involving the rights of citizenship and entitlement as well as to the existing international and domestic law in addressing the internal displacement in Nigeria as a practical approach in looking for solutions of the problems faced. The government and other relevant stakeholders should consider these suggestions seriously so that the evolving legal and policy
frameworks would be effective enough to address the issues and problems associated with the internal displacement in Nigeria.