Boko Haram: Group demands register of all children killed in insurgency

Plan International has demanded that government accounts for every child killed in Boko Haram insurgency. The government should “carry out a missing persons registration exercise and facilitate family tracing and reunification for children displaced by the violence,” said Plan’s director Hussaini Abdu. The group also wants government to “acknowledge and investigate accusations” by citizens and […]

Plan International has demanded that government accounts for every child killed in Boko Haram insurgency.
The government should “carry out a missing persons registration exercise and facilitate family tracing and reunification for children displaced by the violence,” said Plan’s director Hussaini Abdu.
The group also wants government to “acknowledge and investigate accusations” by citizens and human rights groups on violations committed by the military.
At a dialogue to mark Day of the African Child in Abuja on Thursday, Abdu said: “Children have become deliberate targets, often subjected to extreme violence – from sexual abuse and forced marriage to kidnappings, slavery and brutal killings.
“Apart from being recruited as child soldiers, children have also become weapons – used as suicide bombers. In the last three years, nearly 100 women and girls have been deployed for attacks.”
Plan said the period since 2009 has been the most difficult for Nigerian children, especially those in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, caught between Boko Haram insurgeny and state military action.
Children are among more than 20,000 people reportedly killed and 2.2 million displaced since 2009, when Boko Haram started its violent campaign, according to Plan.
“As of yesterday, 15th of June, 14.8 Million people have been affected by this crisis,” said Abdu. “Seven million of this number are in need of humanitarian assistance, of which only 3.9 million are been covered.”
Eighty-four percent of the 2.5 million people suffering from malnutrition are children, according to the group.
Plan said more than a million children have been displaced to settle in camps for displaced people scattered across the country or roam streets of major cities.
“Young women and girls have been abducted, subjected to forced marriage, physical and psychological abuse, forced labour and rape only to be followed by a cycle of stigmatisation on return to their communities,” said Abdu.
The insurgency has caused damage or destruction to over 300 schools and the death of at least 196 teachers and 314 school children between January 2012 and December 2014 in Borno state alone, according to Plan.
“2.7 million children are in need of protection services,  1 million children need access to education and 19,000 teachers have been displaced,” Abdu said.
Plan has urged the government to guard against compelling displaced people to move back to their homes without ensuring their safety and security, improved facilities and protection for children.
It called for children on camps for displaced people to be protected against all forms of gender-based violence, and legislation in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to enact child-right laws as part of a recovery effort.