Skip to main content

How Boko Haram commit ‘grave violations’ against Nigerian children – UN

Children in Northeast Nigeria continue to be brutalized as a result of Boko Haram’s insurgency in the region and the ensuing conflict, a UN report released on Thursday has said.
The ‘Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria’, documented the impact on children of the severe deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the country between January 2013 and December 2016.
Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, in a press release from her office, described the report as a ‘first-of-its-kind’.
“With tactics including widespread recruitment and use, abductions, sexual violence, attacks on schools and the increasing use of children in so-called ‘suicide’ attacks, Boko Haram has inflicted unspeakable horror upon the children of Nigeria’s north-east and neighbouring countries.”
The Secretary-General’s report detailed grave violations committed by Boko Haram during the period.
“During the reporting period, attacks by Boko Haram on communities and confrontations between the group and security forces resulted in at least 3,900 children killed and 7,300 more maimed.
“Suicide attacks became the second leading cause of child casualties, accounting for over 1000 deaths and 2,100 injuries during the reporting period.
“The UN verified the use of 90 children for suicide bombings in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, the majority of whom were girls.
“The UN verified the recruitment and use of 1,650 children.
“Testimonies from children separated from Boko Haram indicate that many were abducted, but that others joined the group due to financial incentives, peer pressure, familial ties and for ideological reasons.
“In some instances, parents gave up their children to obtain security guarantees or for economic gain.
“The children were used in direct hostilities, for planting improvised explosive devices, to burn schools or houses and in a variety of support roles.
“Schools have been targets of choice for Boko Haram and the UN estimates that 1,500 were destroyed since 2014, with at least 1,280 casualties among teachers and students.”
Response to Boko Haram terrorism also raised concerns, the Secretary-General’s report indicated.
“The response to Boko Haram’s insurgency also generated protection concerns, including allegations of extra judicial killings.
“The UN documented the recruitment and use of 228 children, including some as young as nine by the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), created in Borno state to assist the Nigerian Security Forces.
“Children were used mainly for intelligence-related purposes, in search operations, night patrols, for crowd control and to guard posts,” the report said.
Ms. Gamba, the Secretary-General’s special envoy, urged all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law and to ensure civilians are protected during armed clashes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abuja-based businessman beaten to death by unknown assailants in Enugu

An Abuja-based businessman was beaten to death by unknown assailants in Enugu. The deceased, Chinedu Nzegwu popularly known as Obroshoo by friends, was attacked by the assailants few days before his return to Abuja. They reportedly hit him with a stick on the head leaving him for dead. Late Nzegwu, a Pure and Industrial Chemistry graduate of the University of Port Harcourt,  is a former student of Dennis Memorial Grammar School DMGS, Onitsha, Anambra State. His friends and family members have taken to Facebook to mourn his tragic death. One of them Nwachi Viktor, wrote: "Murdered in cold blood in Enugu by fellow ndi igbo. Another young and hardworking man from Onitsha.He was my junior in Dennis Memorial Grammar school Onitsha. Trying to understand why they had to beat him to death,he was never a thief and came from a good home. Rest in peace Chinedu Nzegwu. No one is safe in Nigeria!"
Post a Comment
Read more

Kano Hisbah Board destroys 30 trailer loads of beer worth N150 m

                                   The Kano State Hisbah Board has seized and destroyed 30 trailer loads of beer worth N150 million. In a statement released on Tuesday December 25th, the board’s Public Relations Officer, Adamu Yahaya, said that the cartons of beer were destroyed on Monday evening December 24th after interception at Kalebawa on Danbata Road in Dawakin Tofa area. “The Kano State Law No. 4 of 2004 has banned the manufacture and use of intoxicants in the state. Furthermore, an order was given by a magistrates’ court for us  to go ahead with the exercise,” the public relations officer said. The worth of a trailer load of beer is between N5.2 million and N5.5 million. The sale of beer and its consumption has been banned in Kano state.
Post a Comment
Read more

Man raises alarm after spotting a civilian man roaming the streets of Abuja with an AK47

                                                   A Nigerian man, Olumide Olaniyan, has raised alarm after spotting another man believed to be a civilian, pictured above, roaming the streets in Nyanya, Abuja with an AK47 hung on his body. Read what Olumide wrote below I was driving along Mararaba-Nyanya road this morning. I saw this man with a gun that looks like AK-47 or an automatic gun, I initially thought he is a security personnel, but, his dress, shoes and overall shabby look suggests otherwise. I was tempted to go ask him about his ID card and why he was such a psychological violence to onlookers. Then, I remembered Maama Sunde's counsel those days I used to do student activism at the University of Bariga, "ma se...
Post a Comment
Read more