Families of missing persons recount agony at Adamawa gathering

People whose relatives have gone missing following attacks or other forms of incidents have recounted the anxiety associated with such an experience.

They said during a gathering in Adamawa State that waking up every day without knowing whether a loved one whose whereabouts are unknown is dead or alive is emotionally draining.

The people, who convened in Yola under the auspices of the Adamawa State chapter of the Missing Persons Families Association for this year’s commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared, marked globally every year on August 30, said that while there is hope in the knowledge that some people who went missing have returned home, there is also despair in the knowledge that some missing persons have died.

Speaking on behalf of the association, the Secretary, Joshua Audu, stressed that each day in the lives of families with missing relatives is filled with unanswered questions. He added that families of missing persons face both emotional stress and economic difficulties, particularly where the missing relatives are breadwinners.

Out of the global estimate of about 500,000 missing people, Nigeria accounts for 17,000, with the North-East bearing the lion’s share of about 14,500. Borno State accounts for 9,000, Adamawa for 3,000, and Yobe for 2,500, with insurgency being the main driver of disappearances in the North-East.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has been the main global body assisting affected families with search efforts and related matters, also expressed concern during the Yola commemoration ceremony that life for a person with a missing loved one is difficult.

The Protection Family Links Team Leader with the Mubi Sub-Delegation of the ICRC, Emeline Montel, said an ICRC assessment of the needs of families of missing persons found that the emotional, psychosocial and economic consequences of disappearance were profound.

Montel, however, said that the ICRC maintains contact with families of missing persons in Adamawa State and is adopting a holistic approach to tracing, identification of the dead, and reunification of returning persons with their families.