A startling new figure has been released, highlighting the human cost of the long-running insurgency in North-East Nigeria.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced that Borno State alone accounts for a staggering 67% of Nigeria’s 23,659 documented missing persons.
This disclosure was made during an event held in Yola, Adamawa State, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.
According to Benson Lee, the ICRC’s Protection of Family Links officer, the overwhelming majority of these disappearances are a direct consequence of the years of violence and conflict that have plagued the North-East region.
The tragedy is further compounded by the fact that nearly 60% of those missing were minors, children, at the time they went missing.
Lee described these statistics as alarming, stating that they reflect the profound and devastating impact armed conflict continues to have on families and communities.
The ICRC has been actively working to trace individuals and reunite them with their anxious relatives. However, the organisation emphasised the critical need for greater efforts and resources to prevent further disappearances.
The emotional toll on the families left behind was a key point of the message. Lee stressed the importance of ensuring these families feel supported and not forgotten, adding that they need to know the search for their loved ones continues. The data underscores a deep humanitarian crisis centred on Borno State, where thousands of families remain in anguish, uncertain of the fate of their missing relatives.
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cc: Daily Post NG
