13,595 Families Searching For 23,659 Missing Persons In Nigeria – Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says no fewer than 13,595 families are searching for 23,659 missing persons across Nigeria.

The ICRC family link officer, Mr Benson Lee,  disclosed this yesterday in Yola at the commemoration of International Day of the Disappeared.

Lee said 59 per cent of the missing persons were minors at the time of disappearance, and 67 per cent of the incidents occurred in Borno.

“Worldwide figures: in 2024 more than 94,000 people were registered as missing by their families with the Family Links Network, bringing the current number of registered missing people to approximately 284,400.

“From our experience this is only a fraction of the true number of missing people out there”, he said. He said behind each missing person is a family living in anguish and uncertainty, struggling with the pain of not knowing what has happened to their loved one.

According to him, the suffering is compounded by economic, legal, administrative, psychological and psychosocial challenges.

The chairman of family association of missing persons, Mr Luka Wada, appreciated ICRC for its concerns and support in reuniting missing persons with their loved ones.

“We understand that 80 per cent of the missing persons were as a result of armed conflicts, therefore we thank God we are alive and remembering our loved ones that are missing,” he said.

He called on governments and NGOs to support relatives of the missing persons as some of those missing were breadwinners of their families.

Chairman Adamawa Peace Commission, Dr Jamila Suleiman, called on families of missing persons to take the situation as an act of God.

She advised them to be prayerful and not to lose hope of reuniting with their loved ones.

According to her, the commission is up and doing to ensure peaceful coexistence across the state to avert any conflict that may lead to missing people.