More than 23,659 people are still missing across Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families — mostly women — in distress, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The grim figure was disclosed on Sunday by Mr. Ishaku Luka, Team Lead for Protection of Family Links at the ICRC in Damaturu, during events marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

Luka said that 68% of those searching for missing loved ones are women, while 59% of the missing were children at the time they disappeared. Yobe State alone accounts for around 2,500 of the cases, with the majority reported from Gujba Local Government Area.

“Each missing person represents a family trapped in pain and uncertainty, often facing legal, social, and economic hardships,” Luka said, stressing that the plight of these families is one of the overlooked consequences of conflict, disasters, and migration.

He urged authorities, communities, and all parties to conflict to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances and protecting civilians.

Providing updates on ICRC’s work, Luka revealed that between January and June 2025, the organisation documented 451 new cases and resolved 515. In that period, seven children separated from their families were successfully reunited.

“Every day, we help reunite 20 people globally. Every hour, we clarify the fate of two missing persons. Every minute, we help four people contact their families,” he noted.

ICRC representative Hassan added that healing does not come with time alone, but with answers, acknowledgment, and support. He highlighted the ongoing support provided in states like Borno and Adamawa, including mental health services, livelihood aid, and family orientation programmes in partnership with the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

He called on Nigerian authorities to fulfill their legal and moral obligations — by clarifying the fate of missing persons, respecting the dignity of the deceased, and supporting affected families.

Globally, over 94,000 new missing persons were registered in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400 — a figure the ICRC believes underrepresents the true scale of the crisis.

“No family should have to live with the torment of not knowing. We renew our commitment to advocate for the disappeared and stand with their families,” Hassan said.

• Classroom

South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones in school classrooms nationwide, officials said Thursday, joining other countries in efforts to curb social media use among minors.

One of the world’s most wired nations, South Korea has recently sought to tighten rules on electronic devices in schools, citing concerns over smartphone addiction among students.

AFP reports that the bill, which will take effect in March next year, bans smart devices including mobile phones in classrooms and was passed Wednesday, by the National Assembly.

The move makes South Korea the latest country to restrict social media use among schoolchildren, following similar steps in countries including Australia and the Netherlands.

Seoul’s Education Ministry said in a statement that the law bans the use of smartphones in classrooms except when needed as assistive tools for students with disabilities or special education needs, or for educational purposes.

The measure also establishes a legal basis to “restrict the possession and use of such devices to protect students’ right to learn and support teachers’ activities”, it added.

•Senator Miguel Uribe\ AFP

The 15-year-old shooter of Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was attacked in June and died in August, was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in juvenile detention.

AFP reports that the right-wing politician was shot in the head during a campaign event in Bogota by the teenager, who “must remain in a specialized care center for seven years, deprived of liberty,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The teen was charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons — not homicide — because Colombian law does not permit modifying charges after they’ve been accepted by a minor defendant.

Uribe, a 39-year-old opposition legislator, underwent multiple surgeries during two months in an intensive care unit in Bogota, and died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 11.

The attack echoed the worst years of political violence in Colombia, where five presidential candidates were gunned down in the second half of the 20th century.

Videos of the June 7 attack show Uribe speaking at a rally in a working class neighborhood of Bogota before gunshots broke out.

The bloodied candidate collapsed amid the screams of hundreds of supporters.

The minor shot Uribe three times, including twice in the head, before the candidate’s bodyguards were able to wound and detain the shooter.

Five others — all adults — have been arrested and charged with aggravated homicide in connection to the attack.

Police have also pointed to a dissident wing of the defunct FARC guerrilla group as being behind the assassination.