Nearly 900 children held by a pro – government militia force fighting Boko Haram insurgents in north-eastern Nigeria were freed on Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund has said.
The 894 children, including 106 girls, had been in the ranks of the government -backed Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia which supports regular soldiers battling the insurgents.
The CJTF is a local militia that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in north-east Nigeria. It was formed in 2013, with the aim of protecting communities from attack.
Reacting to the release of the children, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, said: “Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children’s rights and must be recognised and encouraged.”
Fall, who is also the Co-chair of the United Nations Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Child Rights Violations, noted that children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict.
“They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence. This participation in the conflict has had serious implications for their physical and emotional well-being”, he said.
According to UNICEF, the release of the children were part of CJTF commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children.
Since September 2017, when the CJTF signed an action plan committing to put measures in place to end and prevent recruitment and use of children, 1,727 children and young people have been released. Since then, there has been no new recruitment of children by the CJTF.
The children freed on Friday bring the total released since then to 1,727 children, said UNICEF Representative.
Fall stated that the children and young people released would benefit from reintegration programmes to help them return to civilian life, seize new opportunities for their own development, and contribute to bringing lasting peace in Nigeria, as productive citizens of their country.
“Without this support, many of the children released from armed groups struggle to fit into civilian life, as most are not educated and have no vocational skills. In the ongoing armed conflict in north-east Nigeria, more than 3,500 children were recruited and used by non-state armed groups between 2013 and 2017. Others have been abducted, maimed, raped and killed.
“We cannot give up the fight for the children, as long as children are still affected by the fighting. We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria,” said Fall.
He assured that UNICEF would continue to work closely with state authorities and partners to support the implementation of reintegration programmes for all children released from armed groups, as well as others affected by the ongoing conflict.
According to him, at least 9,800 people formerly associated with armed groups, as well as vulnerable children in communities, have accessed such services between 2017 and 2018.
