The European Union (EU) has released €225,000 (around N340 million) in humanitarian assistance to support conflict-displaced communities in Kebbi State, North-West Nigeria.
The funding was announced on Tuesday, October 7, 2026, in Abuja, following severe conflict-induced displacement across the state.
According to a press release by the EU, the funding will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to provide timely, lifesaving assistance to conflict-displaced persons in Kebbi State over the next six months.
”The response will prioritise multipurpose cash assistance, enabling affected families to meet their most urgent needs, alongside protection services for the most vulnerable,” the EU stated.
The action, the statement added, “will be supported by continuous monitoring of population movements and the engagement of local volunteers, and will contribute to laying the groundwork for longer-term recovery efforts by other actors.”
The intervention will reach approximately 7,700 conflict-displaced people across settlements and host communities in Kebbi State, prioritising the most vulnerable groups — including female-headed households, persons with disabilities, elderly individuals, and those facing acute protection risks — “to deliver targeted support where it is needed most.”
The EU said the funding is part of its overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Giving background to the crisis, the EU noted that security in Kebbi State has severely deteriorated following an escalation of armed attacks and communal violence across seven Local Government Areas.
”While displacement has been ongoing since mid-August, a sharp surge in violence around August 31, 2026, served as the operational trigger for this response, affecting over 16,600 people across the state, with 7,706 displaced and 108 injured,” the statement said.
It added that, “Facing a complex security landscape marked by organised banditry, armed group activity and communal violence, displaced families in temporary sites and host communities remain in urgent need of shelter, food, clean water, healthcare, and protection.”
The European Union and its Member States are amongst the world’s leading donors of humanitarian aid. The EU said its relief assistance is “an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent, and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.”
Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), the European Union helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.
The statement disclosed that the European Commission has signed a €16 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), to support the Federation’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF).
The Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) was established in 1979 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF. For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can be replenished by the donors.