Approximately 17,000 missing-person cases remain under active investigation across Nigeria, driven primarily by over a decade of armed conflict, forced displacement, and ongoing violence in the region.
The figures were disclosed during a two-day media roundtable on humanitarian reporting held from September 14 to 15, 2026, at The Art Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. The workshop, organized by the ICRC in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), brought together 25 journalists to highlight the hidden human consequences of armed conflict.
The active registry previously contained nearly 24,000 cases. However, the recent reduction of around 7,000 active files stems largely from lost contact with displaced families rather than successful reunions.
ICRC Public Relations Officer Aliyu Dawobe explained that frequent displacement, changed phone numbers, and security constraints in remote areas often leave searching relatives unreachable.
“A reduction in active numbers does not automatically mean these individuals have been found or reunited,” Dawobe noted during the sessions. He emphasised that many families across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states have endured over ten years of agonizing uncertainty without news of their missing relatives.
ICRC Communications Officer Usman Kundili highlighted that family separation represents one of the most severe, long-term consequences of conflict, burdening relatives with deep trauma, economic hardship, and psychological distress.
Dawobe urged journalists to shift focus from raw statistics to human-centered reporting:
”Figures are good to know, but we also need to know the people who are unable to access medication, food, or reunite with their families. The humanitarian situation in the North-East remains very precarious.” Aliyu Dawobe remarked.
Echoing this sentiment, Professor Bala Muhammad of Bayero University, Kano, who facilitated a training module at the venue, urged reporters to center victims and survivors rather than focusing strictly on perpetrators and casualty counts.
The ICRC and NRCS continue to provide Family Links Network services, facilitating phone calls and Red Cross Messages, though access restrictions and ongoing instability present severe operational challenges.
