A report released at the weekend in New York, United States by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (“Watchlist”), which strives to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights, bears horrific tales from Boko Haram victims.
Boko Haram and the Civilian JTF are opposite sides of the war in the Northeast. But, both of them, said the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict in a report released in New York, United States at the weekend, use children inappropriately to feather their nest.
“Children as young as 13 are being recruited by both sides of the conflict and have nowhere to turn,” said the report.
The report, “Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict”, said the sect has subjected boys and girls to forced recruitment, detention, attacks at school, abductions, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.
The gravity and scale of these violations warrant urgent action from the Federal Government, the United Nations, and other child protection actors, the 64-page report said.
The report titled “Who Will Care for Us?” details grave violations by some parties to the conflict since December 2012 and provides recommendations on how to better protect children. “While the abduction of over 200 girls in Chibok, Borno State, has shed some light on how children are affected by the conflict in the northeast, most abuses are still poorly documented, understood, and addressed by key actors,” said Janine Morna, Researcher at Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict.
It added that security forces who encounter child soldiers in Boko Haram’s ranks often detain these children in unofficial military detention facilities known for the mistreatment of detainees, instead of protecting and rehabilitating them, in accordance with international standards.
“The government of Nigeria should denounce the recruitment of children by all armed groups, take immediate steps to release child soldiers in their custody, and develop procedures to transfer child soldiers to civilian actors,” said Morna.
Watchlist also researched attacks on schools in the region which, according to their media survey, has resulted in the death, injury, or abduction of at least 414 students, teachers, or other civilians on school premises between January 2012 and July 2014. “Continuous attacks on schools have devastated education in the region, creating a climate of fear for students and teachers, and leading to school closures from as early as April 2013. Relevant actors must bolster school security through programmes like the Safe Schools Initiative,” said Morna.
Watchlist documented abductions of boys and girls by Boko Haram, including Christian girls who were forced to convert to Islam and coerced into marrying members of the group, along with other female abductees. Boko Haram abducted these girls and young women from schools and markets, and during raids on villages in areas across Borno State since at least December 2012. Some members of the group raped girls and young women in the camps. None of the girls and women who escaped, and were interviewed by Watchlist, had access to counseling and other health services.
“The humanitarian response to violations against children has been slow, fragmented, and unable to meet the fast-growing needs of those affected by the conflict,” said Morna. Few international actors currently engage in the northeast, leaving the government and local groups, with limited capacity, to support survivors. “The Nigerian Government, United Nations, and non-governmental agencies must take urgent steps to recruit experts with experience operating in a conflict situation and scale up programming to support some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable and marginalized children,” said Morna.
The executive summary of the report reads: “Conflict between the armed group Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), commonly known as Boko Haram, Nigerian security forces, and civilian self-defense militias, is ravaging Nigeria’s fragile northeast. Despite President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, the level of violence and the scale of grave violations against children have worsened. The conflict in the north-east, along with inter-communal violence, has displaced an estimated 650,000 people, primarily women and children, and affected millions of others. The parties to the conflict have subjected boys and girls to forced recruitment, attacks on their schools, killing and maiming, abductions, rape and sexual violence, and arbitrary detention. In April 2014, the seriousness of these abuses came to the forefront when JAS abducted over 200 girls from Chibok in Borno State, sparking national and international outcry.
“The humanitarian response has been slow, fragmented, and unable to meet the fast-growing needs of those affected by the conflict. Few international actors engage in the northeast, leaving the government and local groups, with limited capacity, to address violations and support survivors. The overall lack of expertise on child protection in conflict-related emergencies has left critical gaps in the response including, inadequate protection-related data, a lack of standard operating procedures to manage children encountered in conflict, and limited emergency preparedness planning to address the continuous attacks on schools.”
The report also bears horrific tales from child-victims of both Boko Haram and the Civilian JTF. One Friday in late December 2012 in Gwoza, Borno State, a 16-year-old girl was late for school. Soon after she arrived and greeted her friends, suspected members of JAS attacked the school and abducted her and five other girls before detonating a bomb on or near the campus.
She said: “I found myself in an Imam’s house. I don’t really remember how I got there … The men said [to us], ‘You are the real strong Christians. We want you to become Muslims. We will give you men to marry and if you refuse, we will kill you.’ The five other girls accepted. I said, ‘rather kill me.’”
Boko Haram decided to prepare her and the other girls for marriage. Over a roughly one-month period, she cooked meals for the members and rehearsed prayers and verses with the girls. Just before her marriage, she seized an opportunity to escape when a core group of suspected members of Boko Haram left the compound for an attack. The other girls have not been seen by the community since their abduction.
A young woman who was 21 at the time of her abduction told Watchlist that she was abducted while riding public transport from her polytechnic in Maiduguri to her home in Gwoza on March 15, last year.
Her bus was traveling in convoy with several other buses. The driver and passengers received information that JAS was coming and decided to take an alternate route to Gwoza. Unfortunately the drivers had been misled. The young woman explained: “When we were going we saw people in military uniform. They stopped us. But the insurgents were dressed like the military… They held many buses. They checked if you were Christian, in which case they would kill you. If you were Muslim you were allowed to pass. They identified… (Christians/Muslims) by their mode of dress. After searching and killing, and because it was getting dark, they assembled us to go to a camp. Many people were taken captive.
The young woman reported seeing many abducted girls at the Boko Haram camp. She escaped 19 days later.
Another 19-year-old young woman told Watchlist that she was abducted while travelling to her home in Gwoza from Konduga Local Government College.
She was 18 years old at the time and had just completed her final exams. On May 10, last year, she travelled home with six female classmates below the ages of 18. En route, four men holding guns stopped them. The men asked if there were Christians in the car. One of the Muslim girls provided a hijab for each of the other girls in the car who then pretended to be Muslim. The girls were held captive for three days before JAS commanders arrived and released them. Women and girls have also been abducted during and after attacks on villages.
A young woman who was 19 at the time of her abduction explained to Watchlist: “I ran to the hills. I was short of food so I went to get corn… When people came, they came in a number and I ran and hid. When they started beating my grandmother, I surfaced from the hiding and I was caught. They started beating her and said we should go. I was the only person taken. I was caught with a gun.”
In June 2014, reports emerged of JAS invading and abducting scores of women and girls in villages in Borno State.
Sixty-three women and girls from one of these attacks successfully escaped in July 2014.
Soon after Christian women and girls arrived in the camps, they were forced to convert and were told they would be married to members of the group.
A young woman who was 19 at the time of her abduction in Gwoza explained how she was forcibly converted: “They were pulling the noose around my neck and dragging around and said I should come back to Islam.”
She eventually relented to save her life and the group set her dowry between N10,000 and N15,000 (approximately USD $60 to $90). The reports of forced conversion and marriage received by Watchlist are consistent with other reports appearing in the media.
Four of the former abductees interviewed by Watchlist said they were raped during their abduction. The rape appears at times targeted and at other times opportunistic. A former abductee speaking to a local news organisation explained that JAS leaders raped young virgins, while other members of the group took turns raping married and elderly women.
In two cases cited by Watchlist, members of Boko Haram took advantage of an opportunity to rape the abductees when either the commanding officer was away or when the woman or girl was alone and vulnerable.
A young woman who was 18 years old at the time of the abduction said: “They gave us an axe to dig a hole to ease ourselves. In the night I wanted to ease myself. I was trying to ease myself and as I was in the process [he approached] and I started screaming. He abused me.”
He slipped away. He tried to penetrate, but when people came, he didn’t enter.
According to the report, women and girls sometimes escape from Boko Haram camps but often lack sufficient support, counseling, and health services when they return home. Reports indicate that these women and girls are rescued from the camps by the military and Civilian JTF, or through family members who pay ransom and negotiate their release.
All of the women and girls interviewed by Watchlist returned to their families, but often had to leave home for fear of their safety. In one case, the parents had to leave because they were targeted by Boko Haram following their daughter‘s escape.
Other reports suggest that families sometimes send their children to other cities to avoid the stigma of rape and pregnancy outside of marriage.
Few of the women and girls interviewed by Watchlist officially reported the abduction because of either mistrust of the authorities, fear of retaliation by Boko Haram, or a feeling that reporting was futile because authorities have limited capacity for individual assistance.
A mother of one of the abductees said: “The issue of reporting is a waste of time… The cases are so rampant.”
In addition, none of the women and girls received support or counseling. Civilians, particularly in remote areas, have limited access to health and other services.
Many of the interviewees were traumatized by their experiences. One woman told Watchlist:”Immediately I left this place (the camp), it made me insane,” while another said, “When I remember, I normally cry.”
While the government and other partners are providing some support to the families of the abducted Chibok girls, as well as the girls who escaped, it is unclear to what extent other survivors of abduction and sexual violence can access such services.”
Culled from The Nation
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