The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 4,204 children recruited by the Islamist group Boko Haram in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States in North-east Nigeria were released from detention on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The children, who were under military detention, were released and handed over to the governments of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States for reintegration into society.

The handover was done yesterday by the UNICEF Child Protection Manager, Maiduguri Field Office, Samuel Sesay, during a two-day task force meeting on the Handover Protocol implementation plan in Maiduguri.

Present at the event were members of the armed forces, officials from the Federal Ministries of Women Affairs, Defence, Humanitarian Affairs, Office of the National Security Adviser, and the United Nations.

Sesay said, “The Handover Protocol is an agreement signed in 2022 between the Federal government and the United Nations to ensure children associated with armed conflict are removed from military facilities.

“The Protocol is a step-by-step procedure to make sure that children who escape from the custody of armed groups or are released by the insurgents do not stay long in the military facilities.

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“The Protocol is about children who are affected by the armed conflict, when they are released, how they are released, how long they should stay with the military, who to hand them over to, and what to do with them.”

The children were handed over to officials of the Ministries of Women Affairs from the three states.

The Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, was represented at the Handover Protocol by the ministry’s acting Permanent Secretary, Mohamed Hamza.

The commissioner commended the actors for their commitment to putting in place the protocol and urged for proper implementation of the framework.

The Commissioner said the ministry, in the course of implementation, encountered challenges that include social integration of children associated with armed conflict and economic status for adolescents.

Gambo said, “The stakeholders present were advised to ensure that all child protection concerns are addressed comprehensively with full respect to guiding principles of child rights.

“The children’s best interest, non-discrimination, active participation of children, and their right to life and development are ensured.

“Ensure that all children alleged to have been associated with armed groups are released to the Ministry for Women Affairs within the stipulated seven days and provide them with a comprehensive welfare package.”