Minister Reveals Over 23,000 Missing Individuals Due To Insurgency In Nigeria

Dr. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, unveiled a concerning statistic on Wednesday, stating that the insurgency in various parts of Nigeria has resulted in the disappearance of more than 23,000 individuals within less than a decade.

The disclosure took place in Abuja during a stakeholders’ engagement event held under the theme “Where Are You Now,” organized to commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared….CONTINUE READING

Dr. Edu underscored that this distressing figure accounts for half of the total number of missing people throughout the entire African continent.

The report of missing individuals was compiled by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), primarily as a consequence of the insurgency in select regions of Nigeria.

“Currently, there are over 23,000 individuals still unaccounted for. However, this is potentially only a fraction of the overall situation, necessitating a more streamlined approach to enhance reporting and meticulously trace cases of missing persons,” she emphasized.

The minister stressed that the phenomenon of missing people has evolved into a significant and enduring humanitarian aftermath of armed conflicts, urging for thoughtful contemplation on this matter.

Furthermore, Dr. Edu affirmed the administration’s dedication to addressing this issue. She emphasized the importance of facilitating and fortifying legal frameworks to effectively tackle instances of disappearance.

Yann Bonzon, the Head of Delegation for ICRC, corroborated the alarming statistics. He highlighted that more than 23,000 individuals registered by the Family Links Network in Nigeria have not returned home and remain missing to this day. Bonzon further noted that the actual count of missing individuals could be even higher, positioning Nigeria as the country with the highest number of missing persons on the African continent.