No fewer than 24,000 Nigerians have been reported missing by their families, according to data released by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Ms. María Toscano, ICRC’s Protection of Family Links Team Leader, disclosed this during a media workshop in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Wednesday. She said efforts are ongoing to trace the whereabouts of the missing individuals, many of whom have been separated from their families due to the prolonged armed conflict in the north-east.
Toscano revealed that Borno State has the highest number of missing persons, with nearly 9,000 out of the 16,000 cases registered by the ICRC in the region. She noted that the majority of disappearances (71%) occurred between 2014 and 2015, during the peak of insurgency.
“Bama Local Government Area alone accounts for about 5,000 missing persons,” she said.
Toscano also highlighted that 65 per cent of the missing persons in the north-east were children at the time they disappeared, further deepening the humanitarian concern.
Despite the challenges, she said 11 persons have been reunited with their families so far this year, in addition to 13 reunifications in 2024.
However, she identified inaccessibility to conflict-affected areas and difficulties in contacting families as major obstacles in locating and reuniting the missing with their loved ones.
Earlier, the Head of ICRC Sub-Delegation in Maiduguri, Ms. Diana Japaridze, expressed concern over the growing number of families who remain in distress, many years after being separated by conflict.
“Some people spend years searching for loved ones, often with no result. Families have a right to know the fate of their relatives,” Japaridze said.
She underscored the emotional and psychological toll on families who have lived in uncertainty and anguish for over a decade.
“In the chaos of armed conflict, violence, and disasters, families can become separated within minutes. This leads to long-term vulnerability and heartbreak, particularly when it involves children, spouses, or parents,” she added.
Japaridze also urged the media to play a critical role in creating public awareness about the issue.
“While states have a duty to raise awareness on the issue of missing persons as a matter of international humanitarian and human rights law, the mass media must draw attention to their plight and the urgent needs of affected families,” she said.
She encouraged journalists to approach the issue with empathy, professionalism, and depth, noting that the workshop aimed to help reporters ask the right questions, write better stories, and shed more light on the plight of missing persons in Nigeria.
