Friday Obande
The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, has said no fewer than 25000 people have been reported missing in Nigeria. Of the number, the ICRC said 14,000 are children.
The head of the delegation of the ICRC, Yann Bonzon said this is in addition to the over 2,000 cases of missing persons the organisation registered after January 2021.
Yann Bonzon made the disclosure at the National Human Rights Commission headquarters in Abuja, an event to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.
Bonzon also revealed that there are over 35 active armed conflicts in Africa, with thousands of people, including children, crossing borders, the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety and a better life each year.
According to him, such movements often entail great risk, including the risk of disappearance, adding that ”almost 14,000 or more than half of the missing persons are children.”
He also mentioned that documented cases of missing persons are on the rise, warning that the actual figures may be much higher if right policies are not put in place by the Nigerian government to ameliorate the trend.
ICRC also disclosed that 64,000 cases of missing people have been reported across the African continent with Nigeria having 25,000 missing persons cumulatively out of the number.
While corroborating the claim, the Federal Government said about 50 percent of 25,000 missing persons in the country are children, describing the trend as tragic.
“Sadly, the almost 14,000 children registered does not capture the full scope of this often-neglected and tragic humanitarian issue. There is no doubt that there are more children whose fate remains unknown,” the official said.
The official said the ICRC has more than 5,200 documented cases of unaccompanied children in Africa.
On its part, the federal government described the situation as ”tragic”, vowing to collaborate with the Department of State Services, DSS, Nigeria Police Force and other security forces to ensure missing persons are found.
Minister Of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management And Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said thousands of families are suffering from the anguish of a constant search.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, confirmed that 50% of more than 25,000 persons that have been reported missing in Nigeria are minors.
She said, “In Nigeria and around the world, people go missing as a humanitarian consequence of armed conflicts and also as a result of violence and migration.
”It is the tragic reality for thousands of families who are suffering from the anguish of a constant search as there are more than 25,000 persons that have been reported missing in Nigeria; about 50% of these numbers are minors.
