The UN has negotiated the release of nearly 900 children detained by the Nigerian Army after they retook land from Boko Haram militants, a senior official said.
The 876 children had been held in the barracks in Maiduguri, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Western and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine, said after visiting the north-eastern city.
It was not immediately clear how long they had been held.
However, the army routinely detains civilians who have been living in areas that had been ruled by the insurgents on suspicion that they too might be linked to militant activities.
Nonetheless, rights groups said there was no proper legal process for such civilians, including the children.
They said that they were not formally charged and some ended up in so-called rehabilitation centres or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
The United Nations says children should not be detained.
“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,” Mr. Fontaine said.
Source: NAN
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