According to reports from the Punch,
The Human Rights Watch has said that the Boko Haram sect now uses children as young as 12 years old in its attacks.
The group said in a statement released
in Abuja on Friday that even though the sect has abducted scores of
women and girls in the last four years, Nigerian security forces too
have not been able to account for hundreds of young detainees.
This HRW’s comment is a result of a nine-day visit to Kano and Maiduguri in November 2013.
The group said, “The rise of an
anti-Boko Haram ground allied with the Nigerian security forces – the
so-called civilian joint task force – has added a worrisome dimension to
the violence.
“Human Rights Watch interviewed more
than 60 victims and witnesses, as well as medical personnel, members of
local rights groups, civilian joint task force commanders and government
officials.
“The commanders of the civilian joint
task force said they had rescued 26 abducted women and girls from a Boko
Haram stronghold in Maiduguri and later in Sambisa forest. Some of the
women and girls were pregnant. Others had babies.
“Some witnesses said they saw children in the ranks of Boko Haram during attacks.
Human Rights Watch also observed
children who appeared to be aged 15-17 manning checkpoints for the
civilian joint task force in Maiduguri.”
The group said for a sect claiming to be religious, the Boko Haram tactics “are the most profane acts we can imagine.”
The group said it witnessed arbitrary detention by security forces during its visit.
It said arrests took place in markets, mosques and other locations where young men were known to gather.
“Family members and witnesses described
how often after Boko Haram attacks, members of the security forces
indiscriminately rounded up and arrested boys and young men in the
vicinity,” HRW said.
