CDS General
Olonisakin
Boko-Haram Child
CDS General
Olonisakin
Boko-Haram Child Soldiers in Rehabilitation Centre-
DHQ
The Defence Headquarters has noted with deep concern that while
troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) are intensifying effort
to ensure lasting peace in the North East (NE), Human Rights Watch
(HRW) is set to release a report accusing the AFN of arbitrarily
detaining children in its detention facilities in the North East
(NE). This report is not only false but capable of undermining the
joint efforts of the Armed Forces and other security agencies to
restore peace in the NE.
It is an established fact that Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs)
indoctrinate women and children who they use as suicide bombers in
the theatre of operations. In the conduct of their operations
troops arrest these children while attempting to detonate
explosives and provide tacit support to insurgents such as
intelligence on troops’ movement and deployments.
Contrary to HRW claims however, the AFN manages children in the
North East theatre as victims of war and not as suspects.
Apprehended children are kept in secured places, where they are
adequately fed, profiled and de-radicalized before their release.
This was evidently captured in the HRW Report, where it stated that
“since January 2013, Nigerian Authorities have released at least
2,200 children from detention nearly all without charge.” This
statement further attests to the fact that the children are
released to appropriate authorities after de-radicalization efforts
by appropriate government agencies and NGOs.
It is expedient to state that only profiled Boko Haram and ISWAP
terrorists are held in detention pending their prosecution by
appropriate prosecuting agencies, as the AFN is not vested with the
power of prosecution. It is also necessary to clarify, that aside
the set of children involved in acts of terrorism, some adult
female Boko Haram terrorists arrested in terrorists’ enclaves
during combat have also been found to be with children. During the
process of profiling and investigations the women opt to keep their
children rather than hand them over to relations. While the female
terrorists are kept in the detention facility, their children are
given protected care in a welfare holding facility, not a detention
facility, where they could be accessed by their mothers under
supervision by female personnel. The children are provided with
regular feeding, clothing, requisite medical attention, in-house
spiritual and educational tutoring and other welfare needs.
The DHQ therefore wishes to state that no children are kept and
tortured in any detention facility. The children caught in the act
of terrorism are moved to safe facilities such as the Borno State
Rehabilitation Centre in Bulunkutu, Maiduguri, and Operation SAFE
CORRIDOR, where they are de-radicalized, rehabilitated and
reintegrated into the society. Those whose families could not be
traced are handed over to IDP Camps officials for
administration.
It must also be noted that several attempts have been made by
these sponsored Rights groups to lay allegations of arbitrary
arrests and extra judicial killings at the doorstep of the AFN all
in an effort to undermine the successes so far recorded in the
ongoing Nigeria’s Counter terrorism and Counter insurgency
operations against Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North East.
It must be emphasized, that contrary to the insinuation, the AFN
does not engage in arbitrary arrests since its operations are
intelligence driven. The AFN is at war in the North East against
Boko Haram and ISWAP; terrorists groups that are globally
recognised for the most inhuman and callous attacks on humanity.
Arresting and detaining members of these terrorists groups to face
trial and obtain justice for Nigerians for the atrocious attacks
and callous killing of innocent citizens and foreigners cannot be
described as arbitrary or unlawful. Their arrest and detention are
professionally handled and within legitimacy of the mandate of the
Counter terrorism and counter Insurgency operations in the North
East. Suspects (adults not children), caught in the act of
terrorism or aiding and abetting terrorism are arrested, profiled
and processed for prosecution after thorough investigation.
More also, terrorists and insurgents neutralized in combat with
troops does not translate to extra judicial killing as erroneously
portrayed. The AFN does not condone extra judicial killing and
erring personnel are sanctioned according to the dictates of the
military justice system and the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
The AFN is a professional military with extant doctrines and
Standard Operating procedures, hence, extra judicial killing or
summary execution is an aberration and not permissible in our
operational engagements. The DHQ is using this medium to remind the
general public that it works in conjunction with other relevant
government agencies and NGOs in handling children in the various
safe facilities provided by both federal and state governments. We
also want to reaffirm our commitment and adherence to Rules of
Engagement (ROE) and Laws of Armed Conflicts in all our operations.
It is pertinent to state that over the years the AFN has
periodically taken NGOs and other Civil Society Organizations (CSO)
on guided tours of our operational areas to ensure transparency and
openness.
All NGOs and CSOs operating in the NE and other parts of the
country are enjoined to desist from publishing poorly researched
and shallow reports on the activities of the AFN, as this is
capable of undermining national security efforts to restore peace
in the NE.
Signed
ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Colonel
Acting Director Defence Information