THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE AMBAZONIAN CONFLICT ON HOST COMMUNITIES IN IKOM AND ITS ENVIRONS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA, 2016-2024

The Ambazonian conflict, rooted in historical, political, and cultural marginalisation of Anglophone Cameroonians, has led to massive displacement, forcing thousands into border communities in southeastern Nigeria, particularly the Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, between 2016 and 2024. This influx has placed immense socio-economic pressure on host communities, disrupting livelihoods, overstretching social infrastructure, and altering demographic patterns.Using Conflict Theory and the Human Security Framework as analytical lenses, the paper examines the socio-economic impact of the conflict on host communities in Ikom and its environs. Findings revealed both negative and positive impacts; reduced access to healthcare and education, rising food insecurity, environmental degradation, increased competition for employment and land, and social tensions despite shared cultural and ethnic ties between hosts and refugees; and on the flip side, increased trade and labour force contributions by refugees on the other hand.