Expert makes case for laws on missing persons
Expert makes case for laws on missing persons
Mr Ishaku Luka, the Protection of Family Links Team Lead, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Yobe has called for comprehensive legal framework and clear guidelines on the issue of missing persons in Nigeria.
Luka made the call on Wednesday in Damaturu during a media training workshop organised by ICRC, as part of preparations for the International Day of the Missing Persons, which comes up every August 30.
He said the absence of a legal and policy framework on missing persons had left thousands of cases unaddressed, creating uncertainty for both families and institutions.
He said that ICRC had registered about 24,000 cases of missing persons in Nigeria since 2014, most of them related to the armed conflict in the North-East.
Luka said that 16,000 of the cases were recorded in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
He said that Yobe alone had 2,500 active cases, particularly in Gujba Local Government Area.
He said that 60 per cent of the missing persons were children at the time of their disappearance, while the majority of cases were documented between 2014 and 2015, during the peak of the insurgency.
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According to him, without legal clarity, institutions lack a uniform approach to dealing with cases of missing persons, making it difficult to guarantee justice, accountability, or recognition of the missing persons at national level.
Luka also said that establishing laws and guidelines would ensure consistency in handling cases, recognition of rights, access to remedies, and protection of the dignity of those missing and their families.
The workshop also highlighted the role of the media in humanising stories of missing persons and advocating policies that could fill the existing legal vacuum.
The International Day of the Missing Persons aims to raise awareness on the plight of those who have disappeared due to conflict, migration or disasters, and to encourage institutional action.
