ICRC Reveals Disturbing Figures: Tens Of Thousands Of Nigerians Missing

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has revealed that 23,659 Nigerians are currently missing across the country.

Speaking in Yola on Saturday during activities marking the International Day of the Disappeared, the ICRC noted that despite ongoing efforts to reunite families, thousands remain unaccounted for — most of them separated as a result of armed conflicts and other forms of violence.

According to the ICRC’s Protection of Family Link Officer, Mr. Benson Lee, the situation is most alarming in Borno State, which accounts for 67 percent of all reported cases due to years of insurgency in the region.

He further disclosed that 59 percent of the missing persons were minors at the time they disappeared.

Lee emphasized that the ICRC has helped trace and reunite many families, but urged all parties in conflict situations to take stronger measures to prevent people from going missing in the first place.

Appealing for compassion, he said: “Families of missing persons need to feel that they are not alone and that their loved ones are not forgotten.”