The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than 23,659 people remain missing in Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families in anguish, most of them women struggling with uncertainty and hardship.

Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this on Sunday during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

He said 68 per cent of those still searching for answers were women, while 59 per cent of those missing were minors at the time of their disappearance.

According to him, Yobe State alone accounts for 2,500 cases, the majority recorded in Gujba Local Government Area.

“Behind every missing person is a family living in pain, uncertainty, and economic difficulty.

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“The anguish is compounded by legal, administrative, and psychosocial challenges. These families deserve acknowledgement, care and support,” Luka said.

He explained that the issue of missing persons was one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflicts, disasters, and migration.

He urged parties to conflicts, authorities, and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances.

Sharing ICRC’s interventions, Luka said by June 30, the organisation had collected 451 new cases in Nigeria, and closed 515 cases.

Luka added that the organisation had facilitated the reunification of seven separated children with their families.

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“Every day, worldwide, we help reunite 20 people with their families. Every hour, we help clarify the fate of two missing people. Every minute, we help four separated persons contact their loved ones,” he added.

Head of ICRC Sub-delegation in Damaturu, Mr Rashid Hassan, said families of the missing should not be left alone in their struggles.

“Time does not heal. Acknowledgement, answers and respect do. Families must know that their loved ones are not forgotten and their demands are heard,” Hassan stressed.

He said the ICRC, working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), had provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states.

Hassan urged authorities to fulfill their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons, protecting the dignity of the dead, and addressing the economic and social needs of the affected families.

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He also called on society to show solidarity, avoid stigmatisation, and support the resilience of families searching for answers.

Globally, Hassan said, more than 94,000 people were newly registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.

He stressed, however, that the figure represented only a fraction of the real number.

“As we commemorate this day, we renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of the disappeared and to push for continuous efforts in searching for answers.

“No family should live with the torment of uncertainty,” Hassan said.

(NAN)

… narratives how she once considered suicide

Former Your View host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, has said her past remarks about former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, were made without knowing much about him or his record in office.

The veteran media personality, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, explained that her comments on the Labour Party presidential candidate at the time were not based on personal familiarity with his record.

“It was because I did not know him. After I made that comment, people called me and said, ‘Morayo, do you realise that when he was governor, he actually served us?’

“So that was him. I said, ‘Oh, I did not know,’” she said.

The broadcaster also opened up about her battle with depression, recalling how she once considered taking her own life.

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“I was depressed. It got so bad that I thought I was suicidal. I just left everything behind.

“I remember just walking on the express, hoping a car would hit me. It was that bad,” she revealed.

Afolabi-Brown explained that she decided to step away from Your View after the show’s tenth anniversary, saying she had long harboured the thought of moving on.

“It was when we were 10 years old that I knew it was time to move on to the next thing.

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“I’ve been harbouring that thought for a while, but I just didn’t know to what or where, you know.

“But I think last year, I got that light bulb moment,” she said.

Brown further narrated how she was sacked from TVC until her identity became known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“People now call Asiwaju, ‘Do you know whose child was sacked?’ He said, ‘I’m not aware.’

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“He said, ‘This is the Alao Aka-Bashorun’s daughter. That’s when he knew it was me,” she recalled.

On controversies during her career, she revisited the uproar that trailed an on-air interview in which she was accused of calling her husband a pedophile.

According to her, the First Lady’s intervention helped her make peace and publicly apologise.

Her exit from Your View, she noted, marked the end of her 12-year journey on the breakfast show.

The Akwa Ibom State Government has debunked reports alleging that 15 per cent of its workers’ salaries are being deducted as tithe.

The report, on Saturday cited Akwa Ibom payslips to discredit the claim by Governor Umo Eno that none of his personal assistants earns less than one million naira monthly.

It also quoted an appointee alleging that the governor deducts 15% of their salaries as a compulsory tithe every month, regardless of their church affiliation.

However, Commissioner for Information, Hon. Aniekan Umanah, in a statement issued in Uyo on Sunday, described the report as false, malicious, and irresponsible.

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He described the content of the report as “a reckless fabrication, a deliberate falsehood, and a failed attempt to smear the image of the government, the Governor and mislead the public.”

Umanah noted that the report incorrectly displayed a remittance form alongside a shaded letter purportedly from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, which, on verification, was found to relate only to the remuneration of certain categories of personal aides to the Governor, who are political appointees and reflect statutory PAYE tax deductions.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there are various categories of aides to the Governor whose gross monthly salaries and allowances range from ₦200,000 to ₦1,432,000, including Honorary Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants, and Project Supervisors,” Umanah explained.

He further noted that in line with Governor Umo Eno’s recent statement during a Town Square meeting in Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, a full Personal Assistant to the Governor earns not less than one million naira in salary and allowances monthly.

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Clarifying the deductions reflected in the alleged credit alert, the Commissioner stressed that they were statutory tax obligations, not tithes.

“Every worker in Akwa Ibom State, whether an appointee or a civil servant, pays taxes. Similarly, private sector workers also remit their PAYE taxes to the State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS). One wonders why the routine payment of tax, which is a constitutional responsibility of every citizen, is now being mischievously twisted to mean tithes. Tithes to whom, and for what, if we may ask?” Umanah queried.

The Government disclosed that the matter is already under investigation, with appropriate steps underway to hold those behind the report accountable.

Umanah urged members of the public to disregard the story in its entirety, reassuring them that the government remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the welfare of all workers.

He also cautioned the publication and other media organisations against peddling unverified stories, warning that the State Government will not hesitate to employ every legal measure available against purveyors of fake news.