The aggrieved families of the 1,500 missing persons in Yobe State have urged the State government agencies and humanitarian organisations to intensify efforts to trace their loved ones and clarify their whereabouts in the country.
The call was made on Thursday in Damaturu, during activities to mark the 2026 International Day of the Disappeared Persons.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), yesterday in Damaturu, disclosed that more than 1,500 people are registered as missing in Yobe, out of the over 17,000 cases being tracked across the country, Nigeria.
Head of the ICRC Sub-Delegation in Yobe State, Sayd Rashid Hassan, said the figures on the missing persons in Nigeria could represent only a fraction of the actual number of missing persons.
He added that more than 50 percent of those registered in the state were children when they disappeared from their communities.
Hassan further revealed that the ICRC was working to prevent family separation, reunite families, establish the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, and protect the dignity of deceased persons.
He, therefore, called for stronger systems to document and identify the unidentified bodies, noting that more than 50 families in Damaturu had received support through the ICRC’s Accompaniment Programme.
Speaking for the affected families, Chairman of Families of the missing persons, Malam Ali Idriss, urged government institutions and other stakeholders to make it easier for families to access information and assistance.
Idriss said the impact of disappearances went beyond uncertainty about the whereabouts of loved ones, as families also faced emotional distress, economic difficulties and challenges in obtaining legal and administrative documents.
“Every missing person is a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, friend or loved one. Every missing person matters,” he said.
He called for coordinated support for affected families and stronger measures to prevent disappearances.
Idriss also stated that families were working to establish an association to promote mutual support, advocacy and engagement with government and humanitarian organisations.
