End child soldiers’ recruitment – UNICEF

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has called for an end to the recruitment and use of children by armed groups in Nigeria.

The organisation has also requested the release of those in the custody of such groups to extend support for former child soldiers in northeast Nigeria.

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In a statement, UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office Phuong Nguyen called on the Nigerian authorities to sign the Handover Protocol for children encountered in the course of armed conflict in the country and the Lake Chad Basin Region which would end the detention of children formerly associated with armed groups.

The call was made on the occasion of International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers otherwise known as “Red Hand Day”.