By Maryam Abdul-aziz Usman
The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, has disclosed that it is following up on more than 1,500 cases of missing persons in Yobe State.
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The Head of the ICRC Sub-Delegation in Damaturu, Syed Rashid Hassan, disclosed this on Thursday in Damaturu at an event to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Disappeared.
Hassan said the cases in Yobe formed part of more than 17,000 missing-person cases being followed up by the ICRC across Nigeria.
He said more than half of those reported missing were children at the time of their disappearance, noting that the figures could represent only a fraction of the actual number of missing persons in the country.
According to him, more than 513,000 people were registered as missing worldwide through the Family Links Network of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement by the end of 2025.
Hassan described missing persons as one of the most devastating and long-lasting consequences of armed conflict, violence, disasters and migration.
He said the disappearance of loved ones left families facing emotional, psychological, economic, legal and administrative difficulties.
The ICRC official said the organisation was working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, government authorities and other stakeholders to prevent family separation, reunite families and clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons.
He said efforts were also being made to protect the dignity of the dead and improve systems for documenting unidentified bodies.
Hassan disclosed that the ICRC had launched an accompaniment programme in Damaturu to help families cope with the psychological and psychosocial effects of having loved ones missing.
He said more than 50 families had so far received support through the programme.
“Today, many families are still living in uncertainty, causing agony and unspeakable suffering,” he said.
He called for stronger and sustained efforts to search for missing persons and provide answers to their families.
Hassan also advocated stronger national legal and institutional frameworks, including improved medico-legal systems and mechanisms for determining the fate of missing persons.
He commended the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA; the Ministry of Justice’s Justice Sector Reform Team; the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education through the Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board, YBSUBEB; and community leaders for supporting efforts to address the plight of missing persons.
He said SEMA had supported the implementation of a national mass-fatality response plan in the state, while the Justice Sector Reform Team was reviewing the coroner’s law.
Hassan added that YBSUBEB had agreed to incorporate key messages on preventing family separation into activities in primary schools.
Speaking on behalf of families of missing persons, the Chairman of Families of the Missing, Ali Idris, said affected families continued to live between hope and uncertainty while waiting for answers about their loved ones.
Idris said the absence of answers had affected the emotional wellbeing, livelihoods and relationships of many families.
He appreciated the ICRC for its tracing efforts, family reunification and psychosocial support programmes.
However, he appealed to authorities to open their doors to families of missing persons and provide stronger and coordinated support.
“Our needs go beyond finding our missing loved ones. Yes, we need answers. We need continued efforts to search for and clarify the fate and whereabouts of those who are missing.
“But we also need support for the families who have been left behind,” he said.
The International Day of the Disappeared is commemorated annually on August 30 to honour missing persons and stand in solidarity with their families.
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