The Problem
Nigeria is rated to have the highest incidence of missing persons in Africa. A report published by the Human Rights Watch in August 2020 showed that there were over 23,000 caseloads of missing people in Nigeria and as corroborated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), this is about the largest number of recorded cases in the world. A report by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) attributes the rising cases of missing persons to the worsening cases of insecurity and conflicts in Nigeria. Yet, there are concerns that the problem may be more than projected due to the possibility that some of the information are underreported.
Key stakeholders such as the National Human Rights Watch of Nigeria (NHRWN) and the ICRC have reiterated the need to have a National Database for Missing Persons in Nigeria. However, this responsibility which was vested in the NHRWN has not been fulfilled and reliable data for decision making is lacking. Similarly, Section 90 of the Nigerian Police Act of 2020 mandates all Nigerians to report cases of missing persons within 24 hours but till date, there is no effective system for reporting missing persons in the country.
In addition to the foregoing, there is a problem of finding missing persons. As credited to the ICRC, it was noted that Nigeria faces “immense challenges that come with finding missing people and reconnecting them with their families”. This is challenging, considering that about 60% of missing persons as confirmed by official reports by the ICRC in the country are children while the remaining percentage include women, men and youths.
The above challenge creates a complex problem which requires an innovative approach/solution and intervention by key stakeholders.
The Solution
The Missing Persons Project (MPP) is an innovative web based platform for listing, recording and viewing information on missing persons in Nigeria. By leveraging information technology and multi-stakeholder collaboration, MPP is strategically positioned to address the identified problems in Section 2.0 while creating a sustainable system that addresses the needs of individuals, families and groups affected by missing persons.
The Vision and Mission
The vision of MPP is to build a sustainable system for reporting, identifying, viewing and providing information that could facilitate the finding of missing persons everywhere.
Our mission is to harness people, technology and network to deliver efficient solutions that help to report and view missing persons wherever, wherever and however.
The Services of MPP
The MPP services are summarised in the table below.
Table 1. Proposed MPP Services
| S/n | Services | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | General Services | |
| 1 | Reporting of Missing Persons | Individuals, family members and organisations can report missing persons. |
| 2 | Reporting of Found & Unclaimed Persons | People can report unidentified persons found within their street, community or environment. |
| 3 | Reporting of Unidentified Bodies | People can report unidentified bodies within their neighbourhood, on the road (accident victims) and others. |
| 4 | Reporting of Voluntary Missing Persons | People who decide to go missing can also report themselves as missing for a period. |
| 5 | Missing person search | People/organisations can search for missing persons, unidentified persons and unidentified bodies on the platform. |
| B | Advanced/Specialised Services | |
| 1 | Fast-Track Publicity Services | People can fast-track the finding of missing persons through social media, mass media and print media publicity/awareness. |
| 2 | Biopsychosocial Counselling Services | Families of missing persons can access counselling services from partner/registered counsellors to cope with the biopsychosocial burden of dealing with the situation. |
| 3 | Expert Support Services | Families/dependents of missing persons can get support services to access the funds, savings or investment of the missing persons to keep life going. |
| 4 | Data & Statistics Services | Individuals and organisations can access data on missing persons for policy making and other interventionary purposes. |
| 5 | Training & Information Services | The service includes provision of training to organisations dealing with missing persons, publication of statistical bulletins and information guides to avoid going missing. |
References
https://thenationonlineng.net/why-missing-person-cases-are-on-the-rise-nema/
https://thenigerialawyer.com/is-nigerian-police-to-investigate-cases-of-missing-persons-after-24-hours/
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/375537-nigerian-critic-dadiyata-remains-missing-six-months-after-disappearance.html