After a deadly raid, a displaced Nigerian mother finds a lifeline in sewing

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Safiya Musa, a displaced mother in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina State, has rebuilt part of her life through sewing after a 2023 armed raid killed her husband and two youngest children. The attack took place in Kankara, where her family had lived after moving from Batsari. According to the report, armed bandits had attempted to abduct the town head and killed about 20 people while leaving the community. Safiya later fled to Batsari, then escaped again with her three surviving children after another attack reached that area.

Now living in Jibia, near Nigeria’s border with Niger, Safiya was selected for a United Nations Development Programme training scheme under its Climate Security Project. The initiative trained conflict-affected women in handbag production and supplied sewing machines and materials. Al Jazeera reported that 20 women in Jibia received the training in March 2024, helping some earn income in a community with access to nearby cross-border markets.

The new livelihood has given Safiya a way to feed and support her children, but it has also complicated her decision about whether to return home. She told Al Jazeera she wants her children to be near relatives, but fears losing the business if she cannot continue it outside Jibia. Other women in the programme described similar pressures, including shortages of money for materials and market slowdowns after violent incidents.

The story highlights the broader toll of armed group violence in northwest Nigeria, where raids, kidnappings and insecurity have displaced many families and disrupted farming and trade. Al Jazeera also noted concerns from a security researcher that expanding commercial activity in such areas may require closer risk assessments, especially as ransom kidnappings become more targeted.