Families of Missing Persons Apeal for Greater Efforts to Locate Loved Ones
Cross section of Families of Missing Persons at an event to mark the International Day of the Disappeared in Maiduguri
By Dauda Iliya
Families of individuals missing due to the ongoing armed conflict in the North East have called on government and humanitarian organisations to intensify efforts to locate their loved ones.
The appeal was made during an event marking the International Day of the Disappeared in Maiduguri, the Borno State state capital.
It has been ten years since the entire family of Aisha Mustapha, a mother of eight from Bama Local Government Area of Borno State, disappeared due to the ongoing armed conflict in North East Nigeria.
Aisha’s plight is shared by hundreds of other families still desperately searching for their missing relatives.
In a trembling and emotional voice, Aisha said life has not been the same they disappeared.
“My entire family members are missing, my father, mother, eight brothers, and my two aunts. Life has not been the same since 2014.
Four of my brothers are currently living with me, and my major concern is their education and well-being, ” Aisha said.
The International Day of the Disappeared is observed to help raise awareness of the plight of the missing, honour their memories and the emotional distress of families, and how to respond to the issues of missing persons.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Nigerian Red Cross Society have documented over 24,000 missing persons across the country.
The conflict in the northeast has led to a rising number of disappearances, particularly affecting women and children.
Chairman Association of families of the Disappeared Kashim Mohammed said many family members in the state are going through the agony of family separation.
According to him, many are struggling with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder compounded by the financial hardship of losing a breadwinner.
“We families of missing persons are in different condition, our children and younger ones drop out of school due to financial constraints, we are pleading for support to enable this children go back to school so as to be productive in the future”
Head of sub-Delegation of the ICRC Serge Zogg represented by the team lead protection of family links Lilian Dube said the Committee through its accompaniment programme has supported 736 families with psychosocial, economic, legal and administrative services. .
He called for increased and continuous efforts to search for missing persons and strengthen the national framework to establish the fate and whereabouts of the missing.
” Today, we are with families of the missing, because missing families is one of the challenges they face during conflict. ICRC and the Nigerian Red Cross have been searching for families, but families also go through a lot of streess, they also go through some economic challenges. So ICRC has a group of people they have been assisting, ” Zogg remarked.
Director Borno state ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Aisha Shettima explained that the ministry is closely working with the military to facilitate the release of innocent people in detention facilities.
She urged the families not to lose hope, stressing that many victims of the armed conflict have been reintegrated by the state government.
