By NortheastStarlive,
The Boko Haram release of four Chibok girls to the Borno state government; has excited the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). According to the Fund; there should be an immediate release of all conflict-affected children held in captivity in the Northeast.
UNICEF Country Representative, Peter Hawkins disclosed that the released girls and others still in captivity were abducted in Kautikari Community of Chibok council in Borno state He said that 276 schoolgirls were abducted from their community, where 173 of them are still missing since April 14, 2014.
According to him, an unconfirmed number of children were also reportedly abducted in Pemi, a community in the fringe of Sambisa Forest.
“UNICEF is very relieved for the released girls and their families,” he noted. Continued: “After their (abductees’) harrowing experience, it is good news that the girls are back with their families and friends, where they belong.” Besides, he added that dozens of children in northeast Nigeria remain in captivity, including the victims of an armed conflict they have nothing to do with.
He lamented that this is unconscionable to be abducting innocent people for over a decade. Hawkins said that children have the right to a safe environment, health, education and freedom from abuse and torture.
He noted that children are not the spoils of conflict and they must be immediately released safely to their families. “Our children continue to face unprecedented of their rights,” he said, adding that such violations include abductions, torture, killings recruitment into armed groups and forced marriages.
He further disclosed that over 1, 000 children have been abducted since 2014 in the northeast. According to him, between December and July of last year, 1,450 children were kidnapped from schools in the central and northwest of the country.
