The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that 25,000 people have gone missing in Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday to commemorate International Day of the Disappeared, the ICRC’s Head of Delegation to Nigeria, Yann Bonzon, stated that documented cases of missing persons were on the rise.
The ICRC also stated that the registered cases do not represent the full scope of the frequently overlooked and tragic humanitarian issue.
While noting that children are more vulnerable, Bonzon said more than half of the missing persons registered in North-East were minors at the time of their disappearance.
Disaggregating the figures further, Mr Bonzon says more than 14,000 of the victims of disappearance are children representing over fifty per cent of the total number.
He said women are the second highest number of victims of disappearance.
He also asserted that the figure presented is only a fraction of the situation as many cases of missing persons in Nigeria are undocumented.
He identified the lack of data and political will as major challenges to proper documentation of disappeared persons in Nigeria.
The Boko Haram war which started in Borno State has been ongoing for about 13 years and it has spread to adjoining states like Yobe, and Adamawa, amongst others. Schoolchildren and women have been kidnapped by the insurgents.
The Chibok and Dapchi schoolchildren abductions attracted international outcries yet there is no end in sight to the attacks by the marauders.
The statement partly read, “In Nigeria alone, over 25,000 people have been reported missing. Almost 14,000 or more than half of the missing are children.
“There are over 35 active armed conflicts in Africa today, thousands of people, including children, cross borders, the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety and better life each year. Such movements often entail great risk, including the risk of disappearance.
“Sadly, the almost 14,000 children registered does not capture the full scope of this often-neglected and tragic humanitarian issue. There is no doubt that there are more children whose fate remains unknown.”
