Speaking with our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer, ICRC Nigeria, Aliyu Dawobe, noted that the 25,000 missing people were those whose relatives came and requested for the Red Cross to register their cases.
Dawobe said, “ICRC Nigeria started family unification in 2013 in Nigeria alongside the Nigerian Red Cross society.
“The 25,000 missing persons is only a fraction of people who are aware that ICRC is helping to reunite separated/missing family members. They register their cases and there are over 25,000 cases of such.”
However, the PRO added that though the number of missing persons in Nigeria in the last 10 years might have dropped as a result of some families re-uniting without the help of the Red Cross.
He stated, “Though, this figure could drop because some people can get reunited with their families without the ICRC knowing or being informed.”
Also, according to a document made available to our correspondent by ICRC Nigeria, over 400 people were traced and contact with their families was restored, while the families of 563 people in detention received news of their loved ones. In addition, 580 civilians were able to restore contact with their families through Red Cross Messages, while 17 unaccompanied children were reunited with their families from January to September 2023.
Our correspondent gathered that the ICRC is currently organising the 3rd international conference for the families of the missing persons.
The international conference aims to gather families of missing persons from all around the world to share their plights and to communicate on mechanisms and methods they have been coping with over the years.
The conference, which assembles families from different places, countries and continents can virtually meet each other to share experiences, develop peer-to-peer support, learn from each other, and adopt some positive experiences in their contexts.
