Rising cases of missing persons in Nigeria signpost worsening insecurity

…Over 50% of missing persons in Africa are Nigerians – Report

…Money rituals responsible for many cases – Bishop Anthony

…Govt must overhaul security architecture – Analyst

The rising cases of missing persons in Nigeria signal a high level of insecurity in the country. In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of individuals who have gone missing, leaving their families and loved ones in a state of distress and uncertainty.

According to data from Missing Persons Platform Nigeria, over 50 percent of missing persons in Africa are from Nigeria, while approximately 22,000 cases of missing persons have been recorded since 2018 in Nigeria.

Currently, Nigeria is rated to have the highest incidence of missing persons in Africa on the back of the worsening cases of insecurity and conflicts.

Enough is Enough (EIE) Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation created a Missing Persons Register in a bid to help push the government into taking concrete actions.

The register, which is the first-ever comprehensive directory of missing persons in Nigeria, was created as an opportunity for citizens and the government to understand the scale of the issue, the efforts and the lack of it, being made to address it.

Currently, the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) is running an advert on its Blue Line RailTV about Tobi, a 14-year-old boy who was last seen on Saturday, August 4, 2024, around the Surulere area of Lagos and has been missing since then.

“Please, help a family find this young child,” @ Edidiong Udobia posted on his Facebook page about a missing four-year-old boy.

According to the notice, which carried the picture of the missing child, the boy was last seen at Ibianang-Ediene, Ikono LGA Akwa Ibom State.

Another case of missing persons is associated with one Oloruntosin Walter, aka Wolly, a 32-year-old man who has been missing since October 2022.

But, in a renewed effort to seek public help to aid the search, the family placed a ‘Missing Person’ notice across Lagos, offering a N5million reward for any member of the public with positive information about his whereabouts.

These are just few reported cases out of the many missing persons across Nigeria, with many being unaccounted for.

BusinessDay reached out to Benjamin Hundeyin, the public relations officer of the Lagos State Police command who promised to get back but was yet to respond to our enquiries by the time of filing this report

“Yes, the increase of missing people in our country, Nigeria today, is alarming. And it’s something that should give every human being living in Nigeria a great concern,” Chidi Anthony, president, Pentecostal Ministers’ Forum (PMF), said.

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He told BusinessDay (BD) Sunday that there is need for a collective action by Nigerians to curb the increasing cases of missing persons in Nigeria.

He further alleged that many of the missing persons in Nigeria are being used for rituals. According to him, the poverty rate across the country is another factor pushing some people, especially young Nigerians into ritual killings.

“And the purpose of this ritual is because they want to make money. Because in Nigeria here, everybody believes that if you have no money, you are nobody. Everybody believes that the poor has no place in this nation called Nigeria,” Anthony said.

He said that the government and political elite have also failed the people, hence the increasing rate of missing persons that is more likely attributable to the get-rich-fast syndrome among many Nigerians.

“And the so-called leaders, the politicians that are supposed to lead with example, they made us to understand that without money, you are nobody. They flaunt cars, change cars, live too big, while people are dying. So, you see, the thing also made some youths today decide to go extra mile, the wrong way, in order to make money,” Anthony said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) stated that over 10,000 people were reported missing in Nigeria between 2020 and 2022. This number is alarming and indicates a growing trend of insecurity in the country.

One of the main reasons for the high number of missing persons in Nigeria is the activities of kidnappers and armed groups.

Kidnapping has become a lucrative business in Nigeria, with many individuals and groups engaging in the practice to demand ransom from families and loved ones of the victims.

Furthermore, the level of insecurity in Nigeria has also been exacerbated by the activities of terrorist groups like the Boko Haram in the North East, bandits in North West and North Central, and kidnappers and the killer herders’ activities in the southern part of the country.

According to security analysts, these groups have been known to abduct individuals, including women and children, subjecting them to various forms of exploitation and abuse.

It is also believed that the lack of effective policing and law enforcement in Nigeria has contributed to the high number of missing persons.

Accordingly, many families and loved ones of missing individuals have complained about the lack of assistance from security agencies in finding their missing relatives.

For these family members, the psychological trauma and emotional distress caused by the disappearance of a loved one cannot be overemphasised.

This is because families and loved ones of missing persons often go through a range of emotions, including anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.

However, Anthony told BD Sunday that the security agencies are incapacitated. According to him, “the police are also human beings; they are not spirits.”

He said that the police and other security agencies need the right gadgets in order to carry out their primary responsibilities. He believes that every Nigerian needs to be involved in the security of lives and property in society. According to him, people should give security agencies the right information to aid their activities.

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“In fact, the only way to end this thing is, number one, to help the police. When you see something, you say something and the police will do something.

“Hardly would you wake up a day without hearing about one ritualist that has been caught with human head,” Anthony said.

A security analyst, who spoke with BD Sunday on condition of anonymity, said that the government needed to take decisive action to improve security in addressing the rising cases of missing persons in Nigeria.

According to the analyst, government must increase funding for security agencies, and provide them with the necessary equipment and training, and ensure that they are held accountable for their actions.

In the past decade, Nigeria has grappled with a recurring issue: the abduction of its citizens. The 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping by Boko Haram has remained etched in the country’s collective memory,

Abductions have become alarmingly frequent, especially in the northern region on the back of terrorists’ activities.

Recurrent abductions:

Few months ago, criminal gangs kidnapped 287 pupils from a government secondary school in Kaduna State.

Two days later, another armed group abducted 17 students from a boarding school in Sokoto state. While some victims have been released, many remain missing.

Shockingly, over 90 of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted in 2014 are still unaccounted for 10 years after their abduction from their school.

It is believed that many Nigerians are languishing in various parts of the country in kidnappers’ dens. A number of others are being abducted for ritual purposes.

“Recently, we read about the arrest of a gang in one of the South West states that specialised in using human beings to make concoctions for quick money. Sad also, some of these disappearances are said to be caused by fake religious leaders who slaughter people in a bid to gain more power to work miracles. They want to be popular.

“We hear and read about ‘One Chance’ in many towns and cities across the country. Some of those behind the operations engage in human sacrifices for one reason or the other. Some Nigerians who have escaped from such covens have made their experiences public,” Matthew Arum, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, said.

Root causes of insecurity:

Experts attribute the escalating insecurity crisis to several interconnected factors like socioeconomic challenges, corruption, and ineffective security architecture.

With the current socioeconomic realities exacerbated by high cost of living, many Nigerians now face economic hardships, leading to desperation and criminality.

Similarly, abductions for ransom have surged over the last five years due to worsening economic conditions.

Also, the rampant corruption cases being reported across the country undermines security efforts. This is so because funds meant for security infrastructure often disappear, hindering effective responses to attacks.

On the back of this is the ineffective security architecture of the country, which analysts said needs a complete overhauling.

Similarly, the level of collaboration between the police and the military remains inadequate, which in turn is responsible for the lack of rapid responses to abductions that is exacerbating the crisis.

The toll on education

The abduction of students across the country has dire consequences for the education sector. Over 1,680 students have been abducted since 2014, which has further contributed to the high absenteeism rates and an increase in the number of out-of-school children across the country.

Shockingly, one in three Nigerian children is not in school, which in itself is a challenge on the overall security architecture of the country and a reason for the government to urgently address the issue head-on.

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The way forward:

Security analysts strongly believe that tackling insecurity to curb the rising cases of missing persons requires political will, comprehensive security reforms, and a commitment to protecting vulnerable populations.

Anthony said that until everybody has equal rights in Nigeria, it will be difficult to curb the criminalities associated with missing persons in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria will only be able to stem the tide of abductions and ensure a safer future for all by ensuring and protecting the rights of every citizen.

“And then again, for the government to help the nation, by making life so easy for the poor people, for the poor to have a say in the nation, that is the only thing that can bring an end to all these things,” Anthony said.