The federal government has declared 23,000 Nigerians missing within the last decade due to violence in many parts of the country.
Minister of Humanities and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Beta Edu revealed this in Abuja at a stakeholders’ engagement with the theme: “Where are you now”, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared on Wednesday.
Edu explained that the figure accounts for half of all missing people across Africa.
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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS).
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Edu also announced that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) had released missing persons reports in some parts of the country after the riots.
She said:
“Today, over 23,000 persons are still missing,” Edu announced.
“However, it is likely that this is just the tip of the iceberg as a more efficient mechanism is needed to improve the reporting and forensically trace cases of missing persons.”
According to her, the issue of missing persons was one of the most serious and lasting humanitarian impacts of armed conflict and required sober consideration.
The Minister promised that the Tinubu government was determined to resolve the issue, which was why it needed to promote and strengthen the legal framework to deal with disappearances in general.
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