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The Nigerian army released 183 children suspected of complicity with
Boko Haram, said Monday in a statement the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The children were released in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State (northeast), after authorities ruled out any relationship between them and the jihadist group.
"These eight girls and 175 boys are primarily victims of the current conflict and their release is an important step on the long road to recovery," said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
Children will receive medical care and psychological support before they can return to their families, the statement added, without specifying how long they have been detained.
Since the beginning of the Boko Haram uprising nine years ago, human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Nigerian army of mbad arrests of people. suspected of links with the jihadist group.
published in 2018 by the NGO Amnesty International (AI), the Nigerian army "arbitrarily and secretly arrested thousands of women, men and children in difficult conditions ".
The organization says that last year there were about 5,000 people detained, "in conditions of extreme overcrowding" in the military headquarters of Giwa, in Maiduguri, where "diseases, dehydration and famine "have killed hundreds of people.
Jihadists have recruited thousands of children since 2009. Boys are often used as fighters, while girls become women of Boko Haram members or human bombs in bombings.
In April, Unicef said that more than 1,000 children had been abducted by the radical group since 2013.
The Boko Haram offensive to establish a caliphate in northern Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and more than 2.6 million displaced.
AFP
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