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Over 23,659 people in Nigeria have been confirmed missing by the the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Most of them are women struggling with uncertainty and hardship. The Red Cross also reports that the missing Nigerians have, thus, put their 13,595 families in anguish by their disappearance. The Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Yobe State, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this recently during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. Nigeria has the highest number of missing persons in Africa.
About 68 per cent of those missing were women while 59 per cent of them were minors at the time of their disappearance. Yobe State accounts for 2, 500 cases, with the highest concentration recorded in Gujba Local Government Area. In Africa, over 82, 000 people across Africa are registered as missing with the ICRC. Africa has the highest number of missing persons in the world. Globally, more than 94,000 people were registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.
The enormity of the situation was driven home by Luka, who lamented that behind every missing person was a family living in pain, uncertainty and economic difficulty, and “the anguish is compounded by legal, administrative and psychosocial challenges.” ICRC said it had, in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for the families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states. The issue of missing persons in Nigeria is one of the consequences of armed conflicts, disasters and migration.
It is a matter of utmost importance for parties to conflicts, authorities and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing human disappearances. Conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, and with a small percentage of them living in IDP camps; it has been hard to trace all of them. ICRC’s interventions to collect the data of missing persons in Nigeria are commendable. The government must not only find every missing person in the country but must facilitate their reunification with their families.
There is need for the establishment of a commission or an agency for missing persons in the country. It will liaise with national security agencies to find missing persons. The family of missing persons should not be left alone to grieve over their loved ones. The government must demonstrate its ability to search for the missing persons.
The Boko Haram conflict has led to the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State alone. Other schoolgirls have been abducted from Yobe and other states in the region. While some of the girls were rescued, hundreds of others were not lucky. Some are still languishing in the captivity of the insurgents. In 2015, Amnesty International estimated that at least 2,000 women and girls had been abducted by the group since 2014. Many of these women have been forced into sex slavery. Such inhuman treatment should be discouraged. Families of missing persons should not be exposed to further torture by criminal elements in pursuit of curious ideologies and beliefs.
We welcome the suggestion by the ICRC that Nigerian authorities should fulfil their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons in the country. It is a practical way of showing accountability to Nigerian citizens. Declaring the actual figure of the dead among the missing persons by the government will enable the families of the victims know their fate and come in terms with the reality. Let government provide succour to families of missing persons to enable them cope with grief and loss. Some of those missing could be breadwinners of their families or might have been caught up in conflicts they knew nothing about. The public should also avoid stigmatisation of families looking for their loved ones. Let all cases of missing persons be promptly reported to the police.
Additionally, the federal government should keep a comprehensive register of reporting and tracking missing persons in the country. The register should have a digital version as well. The register will enable people register their missing persons. A digital register would encourage families and friends of missing persons to timely report such cases. The state and local governments should lend support to families of missing persons in tracking them. The police and other security agencies should help in tracing the missing persons across the country.
