Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, has urged the federal government, led by President Bola Tinubu, to make “enforced disappearances” of citizens a crime.

Amnesty International’s country director, Isa Sanusi, announced this on Wednesday, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance.

“The Nigerian authorities must demonstrate a genuine commitment to end the heinous crime of enforced disappearances, which is widely prevalent across all parts of the country, with thousands of people missing or disappeared for many years, especially in areas facing conflicts.

“With ongoing conflicts across Nigeria, more families are having to bear the pain of enforced disappearance,” Mr Sanusi said at the event.

In light of the devastating impact on families, he added that the government should make it a punishable offense in the nation’s constitution, with appropriate penalties. 

Concerns have been raised about the enforced disappearance of individuals, particularly those who appear to be critics of the country’s government.

Many family members of the victims continue to live through the unimaginable torment especially when they vanish without a trace or their immediate whereabouts.

For instance, it’s been four years since Idris Abubakar otherwise known as ‘Dadiyata’ was abducted from his home in Kaduna leaving his wife and kids.

He was declared missing on August 2, 2019, after some unidentified men seized him at the entrance of his home and were nowhere to be found to date.

The case of Mr Abubakar, who is a known critic of the Nigerian government on social media, is similar to many other critics of the government who have had to endure harassment, arrest, threats, abduction and litigations by the state actors.

Past efforts made by Amnesty International to lobby authorities to find him or at least say what happened to him had yielded no results.

Even when the global human rights group has not ceased in its efforts, Mr Sanusi said it was unfortunate that the Nigerian government continues to fail to open effective investigations on forcibly disappeared persons.

He expressed his displeasure that enforced disappearance was a longstanding tactic used to silence critics and instil fear in civilian populations.

Speaking at the event, Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore described the enforced disappearance of persons as an instrument of terror used by the state and non-state actors to silence dissenting voices in the country.

Mr Sowore, a strong critic of the Nigerian government, stated that justice could only be served if those behind all enforced disappearances through arbitrary and unlawful arrests were held to account.

On his part, Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna, cited the case of Mr Abubakar who had been missing for years, adding that the continued silence of those who should have spoken up about his abduction indicated an utter disdain for the sanctity of life.