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UNICEF Frees Almost 900 Children Held In Captivity By Nigerian Government For Suspected Boko Haram Ties

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 07:27 PST, Oct 28, 2016

The United Nations managed to free almost 900 children who were detained by Nigeria’s official government. The children were rounded up from areas that the Nigerian army and allied security forces recaptured from Boko Haram militants over the last few months.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) negotiated the release of 876 children held captive by Nigerian government. The local authorities “detained” the children for their possible association with the Boko Haram Takfiri militants. Manuel Fontaine, who is the UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa Region (WCARO), confirmed the news and added that the children were being held in the barracks in Maiduguri, reported Reuters. He had been on an official visit to the capital city of the northeastern state of Borno when he gave a statement.

“We fear that there are still kids who are being at least temporarily detained because they are being released from Boko Haram areas by the army but then kept for a while.”

Needless to say, detaining children is a gross violation of humanitarian protocols. The United Nations strongly condemns the practice and insists that children should not be kept in detention under any circumstances.

However, the reality on the ground in the impoverished regions of Nigeria is quite horrific. The barbaric civil war waged by the Boko Haram has been responsible for the merciless slaughter of civilians. These terrorists often strap bombs on innocent children and send them into a crowded marketplace. These living child-bombs are then remotely detonated. Apart from such inhuman practices, quite a few terrorist outfits, including the Islamic State or ISIS, routinely recruit children. These child soldiers are first brainwashed with propaganda material and then taught how to handle weapons and cause destruction.

Since the enemy moves among the people, Nigeria’s government has to be on the alert for its own citizens. It is not clear how long the children were held, but it is common practice for the army to detain and interrogate civilians. The army has a special interest in people who have been living in areas that had been controlled by the insurgents. While the regional government hasn’t released any statistics, it believes the villagers might be linked with militants or might have colluded with them.

Unfortunately, the detained have no legal representation. Those detained, including children, are held without any charges or due process. Oftentimes, none of the civilians and children are formally charged. But separated from their parents or guardians, these children end up in so-called rehabilitation centers, which the human rights groups insist is not that different from actual prisons, reported Press TV. While the government might strongly deny the allegations, such rehabilitation centers are often the hub of illegal activities, including petty crimes and drug abuse.

After President Muhammadu Buhari came to power early last year, he immediately launched an offensive to forcibly retake territory captured by Boko Haram. Led by Nigeria’s armed forces, and backed by neighboring countries, Nigeria has been successful in putting the terrorist organization on its back foot. However, this also means that quite a few of the children might have been held in captivity by the government for more than a year.

Boko Haram, an intensely barbaric radical Islamic terror organization, has been trying for 14 years to set up an Islamic state in the region. Its operations involve suicide bombers, car bombs, and other such activities that rely on stealth, deception, and terror tactics. More often than not, Boko Haram stages suicide bombings using women, teenagers, and children. They have told Nigeria’s 90 million Christians to convert to Islam, flee or prepare to die as Boko Haram refuses to allow the existence of even one Christian in their planned Sharia-based Islamic state.

While actual statistics are difficult to come by, Fontaine noted that the conflict has resulted in the death of thousands of civilians and displaced more than 2 million. Boko Haram is also being held responsible for separating 20,000 children from their parents, of which, only 5,000 have been reunited so far.

Shockingly, quite a few communities often stigmatize the children, claiming they have been associated with Boko Haram, and even reject them. These abandoned children have no other option than joining the terrorist organization, according to the experts.

[Featured Image by Emmanuel Arewa/Getty Images]

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