We can’t get freedom for detained relatives over fear of indictment, families of missing persons cry out
Families of missing persons have decried their inability to secure freedom for detained members of their families over fears that such attempts may also lead to their indictment.
Making the disclosure in Yola during the commemoration of the international day of the disappeared organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Babajo Gwoza a displaced resident of Gwoza in Borno State said a number of families are deeply in pain and reeling in silence over the prolonged detention of their family members in the aftermath of the Boko Haram insurgency.
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”A number of families whose loved ones were in detention are in serious pains because of the fact that they could do nothing about their plights. The fear of being roped has prevented many families from seeking freedom for detained members,” he said.
He added that currently a family member of his has been in detention for over nine years in Giwa barracks but they have left him to his faith due to the fear of what awaits them should they move to secure freedom for him.
”Currently my relative has been in detention in Giwa barracks for over nine years but the fear of being roped in a consequential crime has prevented us from making any move to free him,” he added.
Gwoza thanked the ICRC for ensuring that victims of the Boko Haram insurgency have been organized into family associations noting that such move has restored their dignity, confidence and feeling of self worth.
”We appreciate ICRC for the wisdom of organizing us into family associations. This has given us sense of belonging, restored our dignity, gave us another lease of life and freed us from the scourge of discrimination we have been suffering.
”Through the setting, we have got a lot of positive information about our relatives and established contact with some of them who are living in far plunged areas like Niger, Cameroon and Chad,” he said.
Aso speaking, Mr. Benson Lee, a protection of family link officer with ICRC highlighted the relevance of the day which is celebrated every 30 August.
” The day seeks to promote empathy by highlighting the impact of people going missing has on families and communities. The issue of missing people, including victims of enforced disappearance, is one of the most devastating and long lasting consequences of armed disasters and migration,” he said.
He noted that the suffering is also compounded by economic, legal and administrative encumbrances usually faced by such families.
Benson said in Nigeria no fewer than 13,595 families (68% females) continue searching for 23,659 missing persons of which 59% were minors at the time of the disappearance.
