LAGOS MAY 27TH (URHOBOTODAY)- As the world celebrate children’s day today, the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) has lamented the use of children as suicide bombers in the North East part of Nigeria by the dreaded Islamic sect known as Boko Haram.
The group also revealed that no fewer than 743,000 children have been uprooted by the conflict in the three most affected states in Nigeria.
UNICEF said children bear the biggest brunt of the insurgency, adding that the conflict has severely constrained full scale provision of health services thereby threatening children’s right to survival.
It noted that in Borno State children have not been to school for more than one year.
A statement sent directly from the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp by the Media and external Relation Officer of UNICEF in Nigeria, Mr Godfrey Njoku made available to URHOBOTODAY an online medium said the use of children as suicide bombers and the increase in the numbers of suicide bombings is an alarming and appalling trend in the perpetration of violence against children.
He disclosed that more children and women have been used as suicide bombers in Northeast Nigeria in the first five months of this year than during the whole of last year, according to reports collated by UNICEF.
“In 2014, 26 suicide attacks were recorded compared to 27 attacks as of May 2015. In at least three-quarters of these incidents, children and women were reportedly used to carry out the attacks. Girls and women have been used to detonate bombs or explosives belts at crowded locations, such as market places and bus stations,” Njoku disclosed.
Quoting Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, the statement said, “Children are not instigating these suicide attacks; they are used intentionally by adults in the most horrific manner. They are first and foremost victims – not perpetrators.”
According to the statement, since July 2014, nine suicide incidents involving children aged between approximately 7 and 17 years – all of them girls – have been reported, adding that their identity and exact ages have not been verified, as estimates are based primarily on eyewitness accounts.
The statement noted that an estimated 743,000 children have been uprooted by the conflict in the three most affected states in Nigeria, the number of unaccompanied and separated children could be as high as 10,000.
“Many children have been separated from their families when they fled the violence and have no one to look after them. Without the protection of their families, these children are at greater risk of exploitation by adults, and this can lead to involvement in criminal or armed group activities,” UNICEF representative in Nigeria Jean Gough lamented in the statement made available to URHOBOTODAY an online medium.
UNICEF is concerned that the increasing use of children as suicide bombers could lead to children being perceived as potential threats, which would put all children associated with armed groups at risk of retaliation and would impede their rehabilitation and reintegration in the community.
Consequently, the statement maintained that UNICEF and its partners are working with national authorities to reduce children’s vulnerability by identifying children who are without parents or relatives, and providing them with appropriate care.
It added that no fewer than 35,000 children have been reached with psychosocial support so they can cope with the acute distress they have suffered as a result of the conflict.