Felix Onyeka
To commemorate victims of enforced disappearance, the Herald Foundation for Peace and Human Development, in collaboration with the Amazing Faith Foundation, and other civil society organisations demand for justice and protective legislation for victims of enforced disappearance.
At the commemoration event attended by media practitioners, human right advocacy groups, and other concerned citizens on September 1, 2026, at the Centre for Memories, Enugu, the participants made further demands on truth and accountability and justice for victims of enforced disappearance and their families.
Participants at the hybrid event raised concerns on the horrifying experiences of victims and their families whose case are often neglected without proper closure.
They further examined the causes and consequences of enforced disappearance, and explore practical measures for promoting accountability and preventing future occurrences.
The coalition resolved to build on these recommendations through sustained advocacy and engagement with relevant stakeholders to ensure that cases of enforced disappearance are properly addressed and that victims and their families are not forgotten.
In his keynote address Steven Kefas, a journalist, human rights defender, and Founder of Middlebelt Times raised concerns over lack justice and accountability on cases of enforced disappeared persons.
Kefas who spoke on the topic:
“Enforced Disappearance in Nigeria: The Causes, Costs, and Effects on Victims, Families, Friends, and Communities,”insists officers who supervise unlawful detention of citizens must be held to account.
“Institutional bottlenecks that delay proper legal process for such victims must be addressed,”he said.
Citing incidences of enforced disappearance cases which he followed up with,Kefas, recalled that of Abubakar Idris (popularly known as Dadiyata), who was abducted from his home in Kaduna State in August 2019 and whose whereabouts remain unknown.
He further recounted the traumatic experiences of family members whose loved ones were allegedly disappeared by individuals suspected to be law enforcement officers.
Drawing from his own experience, he narrated how he was arrested and detained incommunicado before eventually receiving assistance from an officer who showed compassion towards him.
He stressed the profound emotional, psychological, social, and economic consequences that enforced disappearance imposes on victims, families, and communities.
At the end of the engagement, participants developed a number of recommendations and agreed on key actions aimed at raising public awareness, strengthening advocacy efforts, and amplifying the demands of victims and their families for truth, accountability, and justice.
Earlier in his remarks, Adeniyi Ogundele, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Herald Foundation for Peace and Human Development, highlighted the importance of sustained public engagement on the issue of enforced disappearance.
He noted that the dialogue was intended to create awareness, foster solidarity with victims and their families, and mobilise collective action toward accountability and justice.
In their goodwill remarks, the Country Director of the Herald Foundation for Peace and Human Development, Nendirmwa Yakubu Malafa, and the Executive Director of the Amazing Faith Foundation, Jeff Ndubueze-an Ambassador expressed concern over the increasing reports of enforced disappearance in Nigeria.
Malafa provided an overview of the Foundation’s work in promoting peace, security, justice, and development through advocacy, public sensitisation, and the provision of social services.
She expressed optimism that the coalition formed during the event would continue to push for accountability and justice for victims of enforced disappearance.
Ndubueze shared experiences from the Amazing Faith Foundation’s prison outreach programmes, highlighting challenges associated with poor record-keeping and documentation within correctional facilities.
He emphasised that improved documentation systems would enhance transparency and make it easier for families to locate relatives who may have been detained without their knowledge.
A panel discussion followed the keynote address, providing participants with the opportunity to examine the issue from legal, security, human rights, and media perspectives.
Most of the panelists who spoke in the session urged media and the civil society to drum up support for victims of enforced disappearance
“No law says a security agent should arrest someone without proper notifying the family of the person’s whereabouts.The is clear on this and it said the person must be taken to court within 48hours and not disappear without notice,”a panelist,A.B Daramola said.
Some of the Civil society organisations that attended the event include:A. B. Daramola-
a human Rights Lawyer and Executive Director, Herald Foundation for Peace and Human Development.
Also in attendance were Ejike Nwobodo,-
Legal Practitioner.;Onyinye Joy Mamah
Executive Director, Heroin Women Foundation and advocate for women’s rights and empowerment.
Eunice Enoch Musa-
Human Rights Lawyer and Media Development Professional working within the civil society sector.
Others include Methodius Karfe
Policy Analyst, Defence Strategist, and Mental Health Professional;Edeh Harrison Ndubuisi-
Investigative Journalist, Civil Society Advocate, and Managing Editor, Advocate Times News Ltd who also served as the panel moderator.
