Nigeria is facing a humanitarian crisis as more than 23,000 people have been reported missing in the country in less than a decade, according to the federal government and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This figure represents half of the number of missing people in the whole of Africa, and is likely to be much higher as the actual number of people going missing in the country is not yet determined.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, disclosed this on Wednesday at a stakeholders engagement with the theme “Where are you now”, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. She said that most of the missing people were victims of the insurgency in some parts of the country, especially in the North East, where Boko Haram and other armed groups have been waging a violent campaign for over a decade.
Dr Edu said that the issue of missing people had become one of the most critical and long-lasting humanitarian consequences of armed conflicts, and as such called for sober reflections. She said that the present administration was committed to curbing the issue, hence the need to facilitate and strengthen the legal frameworks that would substantially address the incidences of disappearance.
She also said that the government would ensure the domestication of international treaties and instruments through a whole of society and whole of government approach. These actions would strengthen the mechanism to address issues of missing persons effectively and efficiently, she added.
The Head of Delegation of ICRC Nigeria, Mr Yann Bonzon, said that more than 23,000 people, registered by the Family Links Network in Nigeria, never returned home, and remained missing until date. He said that Nigeria had more missing people than any other country on the continent, and that until a national mechanism was created, immediate steps must be taken by the Nigerian government to prevent disappearances, to prevent the disruption of family links and maintaining links between separated family members.
He also said that it was important to address proper management of the dead, and that ICRC would continue to work closely with the government and relevant stakeholders to prevent disappearances, to encourage and promote the adoption of international best practices, and to support the Nigerian authorities to build sustainable capacities and resources to establish a national mechanism for the missing and their families.
He said that ICRC had been providing humanitarian assistance to families of missing persons in Nigeria since 2012, by helping them to search for their loved ones, restoring contact between separated family members, providing psychosocial support and material assistance, and advocating for their rights and dignity.
He said that ICRC also supported forensic activities in Nigeria by providing technical advice, training and equipment to relevant authorities and institutions involved in managing human remains. He said that ICRC had also supported the development of a national policy on forensic management of human remains in Nigeria.
He urged all stakeholders to join hands in addressing this humanitarian challenge, saying “Let us collectively remind ourselves that while people might be gone, they will never be forgotten, and their families will never stop searching for them.”
