Armed attacks, instability and aid cuts are pushing northern Nigeria towards record levels of hunger, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

Nearly 35 million people in the north of the country are “projected to face severe food insecurity” from May to September 2026, the United Nations agency said in a report released on Tuesday.

The figure is the highest recorded in Nigeria – the most populous country in Africa – by the organisation since monitoring began.

A projected 15,000 people will face “catastrophic hunger” or “famine-like conditions” in Borno State, which has borne the brunt of “armed insurgent attacks” over the past 16 years, the report reads.

Malnutrition rates are highest among children in Borno, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, the WFP says. Nearly six million people lack bas

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