23,000 persons reported missing in Nigeria in eight years-Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has disclosed that, over 23,000 persons mostly children were reported missing in eight years in Nigeria amidst armed conflicts in the North-east of the country.

Penpushing reports that, the report published by the Red Cross ahead of the annual International Day for the Disappeared on August 30, said the coronavirus pandemic is hindering the search and reunification of missing persons as large gatherings of said persons are discouraged.

The report also stated that about 44,000 people are registered as missing across Africa due to conflicts, climate change, and immigration of whom 45 per cent of those are children.

‘Nigeria,Ethiopia, South Sudan, Cameroon, Libya, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo account for 82 per cent of the disappeared persons registered by the Red Cross in the continent.

Penpushing further reports that, the report has it that, Nigeria has the highest number of the missing people registered, at about 23,000, adding that more 20,000 missing persons are in the Northeast where Boko Haram has continued to unleash terror on defenseless residents since 2009.

The spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) in Nigeria said on that the Red Cross received complaints of the missing persons in Nigeria due to conflict in the Northeast from 2012 to 2020.

He said the among the missing persons, children constitute 60 per cent of reported disappearance in Nigeria.

“Those missing persons are not under the Red Cross safe custody. They were, however, under the Red Cross search following complaints by relatives of the missing persons because Red Cross does search for the missing persons,” he said.

“The search are mostly conducted at Internally Displaced Person Camps (IDPs), likewise, children do ask us about their missing parents which we normally ask about their names, towns, and addresses then we conduct the search,” Mr Dawobe said.

Penpushing also reports that, Dawode said the Red Cross in Nigeria in 2019 was able to reunite over 53 children with their parents and other missing relatives.

Meanwhile, the attacks on civilians in the North-East Region have continued despite claims by the government that the group has been defeated, with bloody insurgency for over a decade which has resulted in thousands of deaths and mass displacement of residents in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States.