What is the official process of reporting a missing person in Nigeria?
There is a misconception that a missing person report can only be filed after 24 hours. This is what allegedly happened in the case of Iniobong Uworen, who was reportedly killed after she had gone to meet someone for a job offer in Akwa Ibom. There were claims that the police refused to look into the missing person report until after 24 hours.
Section 90 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 mandates that when someone goes missing, a report should be filed WITHIN 24 hours at the nearest police station when their whereabouts are unknown. This should preferably be done by someone close to the person who is missing. This is because they would be in the best position to respond and provide all the information required by the police to carry out an investigation.
Officially, the person making a report to the police within 24 hours will be expected to provide information about the Identity of the person. This includes the full name, address, phone number and a recent photograph of the person.
The person making the report would also be expected to provide circumstances in which the person got missing. This is why a close person, for example, a parent, spouse, friend, co-worker, neighbour, etc., is prefered.
The duty officer is expected to document the information of the missing person and the information of the person who filed the report. This is to allow the police to provide information to the person when available or reach out to make enquiries for additional information about the missing person.
It is believed that cases of missing children are given priority compared to an adult.
