The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the number of missing persons in Nigeria is alarming.
Leonard Blazeby, the ICRC’s head of programme and prevention, disclosed that Nigeria has the highest number of missing persons ever registered by the organisation in Africa.
Blazeby made the disclosure at the International Day of the Disappeared (IDoD) on Tuesday in Yola, Adamawa state capital.
According to Blazeby, 25,000 out of 64,000 missing persons reported are from Nigeria.
“This includes more than two thousand (2000) cases that were registered after January 2021. The number of missing persons continues to rise every day, yet the ICRC knows that these figures represent a fraction of a wider undocumented humanitarian tragedy,” Blazeby said.
“I would like to highlight that these figures reveal a very alarming fact that children are particularly more vulnerable than adults to disappearance in Nigeria.”
ICRC’s findings show that the whereabouts of 14,000 children across Nigeria still remain unknown till today.
Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa, who was represented by Eddah Emos, the state head of service, commended the ICRC.
He also said the government will continue to support all partners in promoting peace and harmony in the state.
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