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Fred Ezeh, Abuja
No fewer than 223 children, including 10 girls, were released on Tuesday night from Nigerian Army administrative custody and Maiduguri maximum security prison after they were cleared of suspected ties with armed groups.
Some of the children, according to the authorities, were suspected to have been involved in armed related activities and were picked up by the army four to five years, with many presumed dead and forgotten by their families.
The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), in a statement released in Abuja, confirmed that the children were released to the safe custody of Borno State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, UNICEF and Borno State authorities in Maiduguri.
UNICEF Country Representative, Peter Hawkins, in his remarks, described the action of the army as a huge step forward and one to be welcomed and celebrated by all.
“These children deserve to have a normal childhood. They also require full care and support to re-enter the lives that were so brutally interrupted by the devastating conflict.”
The children, according to UNICEF, will immediately enter a programme that would help them reintegrate into their communities, re-engage with their families, and take the first steps towards creating a new life and means of livelihood.
Since 2016, 3,559 people suspected to be associated with armed groups have been released from administrative custody of the military, including 1,743 children (1,125 boys, 618 girls).
All have gone through the Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State, and have since been reunited with their families or placed in the most appropriate alternative care, where they are accessing rehabilitation services and reintegration support in their communities.
UNICEF, however, confirmed that it was working closely with Nigeria authorities to help with reintegration programmes for all children formerly associated with non-state armed groups, and others affected by the ongoing conflict in north-east Nigeria.
