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Tag: International Committee of the Red Cross

  • 13,595 families searching for 23,659 missing persons in Nigeria – Red Cross

    13,595 families searching for 23,659 missing persons in Nigeria – Red Cross

    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that no fewer than 13,595 families are still searching for 23,659 missing persons across Nigeria.

    ICRC’s Family Link Officer, Mr Benson Lee, disclosed this at the commemoration of International Day of the Disappeared in Yola yesterday.

    Lee said 59 per cent of the missing persons were minors at the time they disappeared while 67 per cent of the incidents occurred in Borno State.

    Quoting worldwide figures, he said: “In 2024, more than 94,000 people were registered as missing by their families with the Family Links Network, bringing the current number of registered missing people to approximately 284,400.

    “From our experience this is only a fraction of the true number of missing people out there.”

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    Lee said behind each missing person is a family living in anguish and uncertainty, struggling with the pain of not knowing what has happened to their loved ones.

    According to him, the suffering is compounded by economic, legal, administrative, psychological and psychosocial challenges.

    Mr Luka Wada, Chairman Family Association of Missing Persons, appreciated ICRC for its concerns and support in reuniting missing persons with their loved ones.

    “We understand that 80 per cent of the missing persons were as a result of armed conflicts. Therefore, we thank God we are alive and remembering our loved ones that are missing,” he said.

    He called on the governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the relatives of the missing persons as some of those missing were bread winners of their families.

    Dr Jamila Suleiman, Chairman Adamawa Peace Commission, called on the families of the missing persons to take the situation as an act of God.

    She advised them to be prayerful and not to lose hope of reuniting with their loved ones.

    According to her, the commission is up and doing to ensure peaceful coexistence across the state to avert any conflict that could lead to people missing.

  • Adewole consoles murdered health worker’s family

    Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has commiserated with the family of Hauwa Liman, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) humanitarian worker murdered by Boko Haram.

    Prof Adewole, who described the murder as callous and unfortunate, said the health workers should not be a target in any conflict zone as they are recognised as humanitarian service providers.

    He prayed for the repose of her soul and called on Boko Haram to follow the rules of International engagement which respect the right of humanitarian workers in conflict zones.

     

     

     

     

  • IS, Boko Haram threaten to kill health workers, Leah in 24 hours

    Boko Haram terrorists are threatening to kill hostage healthcare workers and Dapchi schoolgirl Leah Sharibu within 24 hours, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday.

    The international organisation is pleading for mercy and urging the government to intervene speedily.

    Medical workers Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha, working in Rann, Borno State, were kidnapped in March along with ICRC midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, who was killed in September.

    Fifteen-year old schoolgirl Sharibu was abducted in February along with her mates from her school in Dapchi, Yobe State. She was held back while others were released.

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammaed led a federal government delegation to visit the families of the abducted health workers and the schoolgirl at the weekend.

    He promised that they would soon be brought back home.

    But yesterday, the ICRC said: “Speed and urgency are critical. A deadline that could result in the killing of another healthcare worker is less than 24 hours away.”

    It did not give further details on the deadline or its conditions.

    There have been no reports of the militants making any demands in exchange for the release of their hostages.

    “We urge you: spare and release these women. They are a midwife, a nurse and a student. Like all those abducted, they are not part of any fight,” Patricia Danzi, director of ICRC operations in Africa, said in the statement.

    “They are daughters and sisters, one is a mother — women with their futures ahead of them, children to raise, and families to return to.”

    Liman was working as a midwife at an ICRC-supported hospital, while Loksha was nurse working with UNICEF.

    The Geneva-based ICRC, which often works behind the scenes for humanitarian goals in war zones, identified the kidnappers as members of ISWA – Islamic State’s off-shoot in West Africa, after previously declining to name the group.

    The organisation did not say how it knew about the 24-hour deadline.

    Islamic State in West Africa split from the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram in 2016 and has killed hundreds of soldiers in attacks in northeastern Nigeria in the past few months, security and military sources have told Reuters.

    Like Boko Haram, ISWA wants to create a separate state in northeast Nigeria that adheres to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

  • Video: Many captives still with Boko Haram, says Red Cross

    Video: Many captives still with Boko Haram, says Red Cross

    The International Committee of the Red Cross, (ICRC) which facilitated the release of three abducted University of Maiduguri lecturers ten policewomen says Islamist group, Boko Haram is still holding many people captive against their will.

    The women were abducted along Damboa Road when their convoy was carrying the body of a dead police personnel home for burial, while the university lecturers were abducted while conducting oil prospective in the Lake Chad area.

    The kidnap took place in Borno state.

    ICRC deputy regional director for Africa, Patrick Youssef disclosed this in a series of tweet and video posted on his verified and official twitter handle.

    “We are so pleased that these 13 people are free and will be able to see their families again”.

    “There are many people missing or being held against their will due to the conflict. We hope that these people, too, will get to return to their families soon”.

    Read also: Red Cross: Our role in the release of abducted UNIMAID lecturers, policewomen

    The agency head of Nigeria delegation, Eloi Fillion also stated that ICRC was not directly involved in the negotiations leading to their release.

    “ICRC was not involved in negotiations leading to their release. Our neutrality does not allow our taking part in political negotiations. We act as neutral intermediary when requested to do so by the parties to the armed conflict”.

    Also Read: Breaking: Boko Haram releases policewomen, UNIMAID lecturers

  • Northeast: Over 19,500 births delivered in ICRC supported PHCs in nine months

    Northeast: Over 19,500 births delivered in ICRC supported PHCs in nine months

    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has disclosed that the humanitarian organisation helped with the delivery of over 19, 500 children in the North East region within nine months.

    ICRC Media Officer, Eleojo Esther said during a training for journalists, on Tuesday in Abuja that the women were assisted at the ICRC supported Primary Health Care (PHC) centres between January and September this year.

    She said the population of displaced persons in the region put a strain on basic infrastructures such as water and sanitation installation including health care centres.

    She added that due to the security crisis, about 6, 000 causalities were treated and evacuated by the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) emergency First Aid team.

    In a report made available to The Nation, it was revealed that about 405, 000 patients from the northeast states accessed the 23 PHCs and other three mobile clinics.

    “Around 6, 500 children under the age of five suffering from severe acute malnutrition were treated at the supported PHCs, including over 210 children with medical complications from Borno south treated in Biu.

    “Over 1,500 patients benefitted from free surgical care while 550 patients were admitted to the ICRC surgical ward.

    “More than 8,000 community members and health staff attended 150 sessions dealing with mental issues stemming from conflict related to violence,” It stated adding that 5, 510 displaced persons benefitted from ICRC mental health and psychological support.

    Speaking on the training, ICRC Communication Coordinator, Alexandra Mosiman, said it was meant to support with better reporting of activities of the committee.

    She said sensitization became imperative so as for vulnerable communities to accept the functions of the ICRC, stressing that the Red Cross Society is not a religious body.

    According to her, about 23, 520 detainees in prisons as well as military detention facilities nationwide were visited and supported with basic needs and amenities.

    “In all, 6, 640 new tracing requests have been opened by persons looking for relatives as part of efforts to reunite lost family members. This was facilitated by the ICRC and the NRCS,” she added.

  • Buhari commends Red Cross over Chibok girls’ release

    Buhari commends Red Cross over Chibok girls’ release

    Says talks will continue with Boko Haram if international agencies are involved

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday commended the role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the release of the 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    He also urged the organization to sustain the humanitarian interest it has in Nigeria.

    The President spoke when he met with ICRC President, Mr. Peter Maurer at the State House, Abuja.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that his administration is prepared to continue talks with the Boko Haram insurgent group, “as long as they agree to involve international agencies like ICRC.

    “We’ve seen the result of recent talks, 21 of the Chibok girls are back,” the President said, referring to the role played by ICRC in providing immediate humanitarian assistance to the girls, who had spent over 900 days in the hands of their abductors.

    He noted that Nigeria’s biggest problem was perhaps the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs), stressing that there “were over 2 million of them made up of over 60% women and children. About 60% of the children don’t know their parents, or where they come from. It is weighing heavily on government.”

    On rebuilding of destroyed infrastructure, the President said it was a priority of government, noting that the G7 had equally indicated support, which Nigeria heartily welcomed.

    “We appreciate all your efforts. I am pleased you recognized that our military is cooperating with civil authorities, and respecting humanitarian issues. It is a difficult time for Nigeria. About 27 of our 36 states couldn’t pay salaries when we came last year, and we are still struggling with that. But we will get out of it,” the President said.

    Maurer said their operation in the Lake Chad region is the second largest in the world, after Syria, adding that there are nutritional, health, water and sanitation issues in the North-east, in addition to rebuilding of infrastructure.

    “We are ready to engage and play supportive role in responding to crisis in Nigeria. Security is a lot better than it was a year ago, but humanitarian problems are serious, and don’t disappear so quickly,” Maurer said.

    The ICRC President also commended Nigeria for granting increased access to detainees, and exchanges with the Armed Forces.

    “Detention facilities have improved, there are fewer deaths, and things are better health-wise.” He stated

  • Three Red Cross officials missing in Mali

    International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday said three of its officials had been missing in northern Mali.

    Spokesman of the organisation, Valery Nana, said in Bamako that ICRC lost contact with one of its vehicles on Saturday.

    “The last contact we had, they told us that they were accosted by someone on a motorcycle,’’ Nana told newsmen.

    Report says the arid region is at the centre of a separatist movement and home to Islamist militants, some linked to al Qaeda who have staged a series of high profile attacks in Mali and beyond in the past year.

    The officials went missing near the village of Abeïbara as they returned to their base in Kidal.
    “Four were initially missing but one was released on Sunday,’’ he said.

    In 2015, one ICRC staff member was killed in an attack on an aid truck near Gao in northern Mali claimed by a jihadist group; in 2014, five members of the ICRC team were abducted in northern Mali.

    However, they were released two months later.

    In 2013, French-led forces drove Islamists out of Mali’s northern cities, including Kidal.
    The UN has peacekeepers in northern Mali, while France has a military mission in the region whose aim is to combat Islamists.