23,000 people missing in Nigeria – FG
Dr. Betta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, revealed on Wednesday that the insurgency in some regions of the country has led to the reported disappearance of 23,000 individuals in less than ten years.
Edu said this during a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja to commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared with the subject “Where are you now”
The statistic, according to her, constituted half of all the missing people in Africa.
According to Edu, the insurgency in some regions of the country was the cause of the missing persons report issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS).
Over 23,000 people are still missing as of today.
“However, it is likely that this is just the tip of the iceberg as a more efficient mechanism is needed to improve the reporting and forensically trace cases of missing persons,” she added.
According to the minister, one of the most serious and pervasive humanitarian effects of armed war is the problem of missing individuals, which necessitates serious consideration.
According to Edu, the current administration is committed to reducing the problem, so it is necessary to facilitate and enhance the legal frameworks that would effectively manage cases of disappearance.
Mr. Yann Bonzon, Head of Delegation, ICRC, stated on behalf of the organization that more than 23,000 people registered by the Family Links Network in Nigeria had not yet been located.
The true number of missing people is probably far greater because Nigeria has the highest number of missing people on the continent, according to Bonzon.
