At least 17,000 people remain missing in Nigeria as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues efforts to trace persons separated from their families by armed conflict, violence and displacement.
The ICRC’s spokesman Aliyu Dawobe, disclosed this during a two-day humanitarian reporting training organised for 50 journalists in Lagos recently.
Dawobe said the ICRC had recorded approximately 24,000 cases involving people whose relatives were reported missing, particularly in connection with the prolonged conflict and displacement in Nigeria’s North-East.
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He explained, however, that a review of the organisation’s caseload found that contact had been lost with families linked to about 7,000 of the cases.
According to him, the cases remain documented in the ICRC’s records, but the organisation is currently unable to actively pursue them because it can no longer establish contact with the families who originally reported the disappearances.
He said the ICRC had deployed various approaches, including radio jingles, house-to-house visits and engagement with community leaders and representatives, in an attempt to reconnect with affected families.
“Unfortunately, because of the continued violence and multiple displacement patterns, even those who have registered with us become unreachable,” Dawobe said.
The development highlights the complex humanitarian consequences of prolonged conflict, where repeated displacement, insecurity and disrupted communication networks can separate families and make tracing missing relatives increasingly difficult.
The ICRC has continued to work with relevant humanitarian and community structures to restore family links, locate missing persons and clarify the fate of people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
ICRC Calls For Stronger Humanitarian Storytelling
The issue of missing persons was raised against the backdrop of a broader call by the ICRC for Nigerian journalists to strengthen humanitarian reporting and ensure that people affected by conflict are not forgotten.
In a post on her verified X account, formerly Twitter, the Head of the ICRC Delegation in Nigeria, Doris El Doueihy, said she met members of Nigeria’s media community in Lagos to discuss ways of deepening collaboration and keeping humanitarian issues visible.
She said humanitarian storytelling could help ensure that communities affected by conflict are heard, understood and not forgotten.
El Doueihy also highlighted the importance of neutrality to the ICRC’s humanitarian work, explaining that it enables the organisation to engage with all sides while keeping the needs and dignity of affected people at the centre of its operations.
She stressed that a strong and responsible media has an important role in giving voice to people who are rarely heard and bringing their humanitarian concerns into public discussion.
The ICRC has repeatedly emphasised the importance of restoring family links for people separated by armed conflict, displacement and other emergencies, with journalists playing an important role in bringing the experiences of affected families to wider public attention.