The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has on Thursday given a report that at least 22,000 people are missing in Nigeria as a result of a decade rampaging Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria.
In a statement, ICRC President Peter Maurer said nearly 60 percent of those missing were children and that it was the highest number of missing persons registered with the organisation in any country.
Peter Maurer statement at the end of his five-day trip to Nigeria read :
“They were minors when they went missing, meaning thousands of parents don’t know where their children are and if they are alive or dead,”
“Every parent’s worst nightmare is not knowing where their child is. This is the tragic reality for thousands of Nigerian parents.”
“The ICRC works with the Nigeria Red Cross and other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in the region to trace missing people by showing photographs, calling out names and going door-to-door in camps and communities,”
“So far, 367 cases have been solved since ICRC received its first cases in 2013, underscoring the immense challenges that come with finding missing people and reconnecting them with their families in Nigeria,”
The Red Cross however affirmed that some families were often separated while fleeing attacks, while others have had loved ones abducted or detained and do not know their whereabouts.
