Nigeria has one of the most severe missing persons crises in the world. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at least 23,659 people have been declared missing across Nigeria, with over 13,595 grieving families still actively searching for their loved ones. Nigeria accounts for over half of all missing persons registered across the entire African continent.
Yearly Estimates
Pinpointing an exact annual figure is difficult because Nigeria lacks a centralized, publicly accessible missing persons database. However, available data provides indicators:
- – In the first half of 2021 alone, Nigeria recorded approximately 3,000 missing persons, and there were 571 kidnappings in January 2022 alone
- The ICRC’s cumulative caseload grew from nearly 22,000 in 2019 (after a decade of insurgency), to nearly 23,000 in 2020, and reached approximately 24,000 by 2021, suggesting thousands of new cases are added annually.
- By 2023, the figure rose to approximately 25,000 out of 64,000 total missing persons across Africa
This suggests an estimated 2,000 to 6,000+ new cases per year, though the actual number is likely far higher due to under-reporting.
Cumulative Estimate Since 2015
The ICRC has been tracking cases linked primarily to the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and communal conflicts. Their data shows:
- – Over 90% of missing person cases in Nigeria are a result of armed conflict and violence.
- As of recent reporting, the Red Cross Movement has worked on close to 24,000 cases over the years, with 17,000 still active tracing cases.
- 58% of the 25,000 registered missing persons are male, and a significant proportion are children, with nearly half of Africa’s 44,000 registered missing persons as minors
Key Challenges
- – The Nigeria Police Force and NAPTIP data repositories for missing persons have been found to be largely empty or ineffective
- There is no unified national missing persons registry, making accurate yearly tracking nearly impossible.
- Many cases go unreported due to distrust in law enforcement, fear of reprisal, or lack of awareness of reporting channels.
The true number of Nigerians who have gone missing since 2015 is believed to be significantly higher, potentially exceeding 50,000+, when factoring in unreported disappearances linked to insurgency, banditry, ritual killings, police detentions and human trafficking.
As all government channels, institutions birthed and inherited via colonisation, prove ineffective, our ancient ancestral African spirituality, demonised and suppressed, may well be the most competent source for inquiry and solutions findings
SOURCES: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)/ Human Rights Watch (2020 Report)/ ICIR Nigeria/ World Population Review/ Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ/ Premium Times Nigeria/ Missing Persons Platform
