Over 24,000 Nigerians Missing Due to Insecurity; Says ICRC

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 24,025 people have been reported missing in Nigeria, with the majority from the Northeast region. The ongoing Boko Haram conflict, now in its second decade, continues to devastate Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.

Speaking at an event in Maiduguri to mark the World Day of Disappeared Persons, Lillian Dube, head of the ICRC’s sub-delegation office, revealed that the cases were documented in collaboration with the Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS).

“We have registered 24,025 people as missing, a number that likely represents only a fraction of the actual total. More than half of these cases involved children at the time of their disappearance,” Dube explained.

She highlighted that 1,364 families have received information regarding their missing loved ones, and 492 cases have been resolved. The ICRC has also successfully reunited four separated or unaccompanied minor children with their families, and 618 separated children searching for their relatives are under close monitoring by the ICRC and NRCS.

The ICRC has facilitated family reunifications through the delivery of 1,286 messages, including those from detained individuals, and organized seven phone calls to connect families.

Dube also noted that the ICRC’s accompaniment program has provided psychosocial, financial, legal, and administrative support to over 600 families, helping them cope with the psychological and emotional impact of having missing relatives.

Raising awareness of the importance of maintaining contact with family members during uncertain times, Dube stated that messages on preventing separations have been widely shared through various platforms, including radio, posters, leaflets, and social media.

She added that 8,788 names of missing persons have been announced in local communities and on the radio, urging anyone with information to contact relatives who are still searching for them.