At least 25 schools in Nigeria have been attacked and 1,440 students abducted in 2021, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
This agency revealed this in a report released on Tuesday titled, ‘Children in West and Central Africa among those who suffer highest rates of grave violations in armed conflict.’
On the impact of armed conflicts on children in Africa, the report said West and Central Africa regions are the most affected.
“Over the past five years, the West and Central Africa region has consistently had some of the highest numbers of UN-verified grave violations against children in armed conflict,” the report stated.
It said children in Northeast Nigeria have suffered from the impact of the armed crisis, which has raged the region for 12 years.
“Nigerian children continue to suffer the impact of the crisis. A protracted conflict has been raging in North-East Nigeria for 12 years now. Thousands of children in the region have been killed, maimed, abducted, displaced, and experienced multiple violations of their human rights,” it said.
UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office in Nigeria, Phuong Nguyen, said: “This important report shows the extent of the grave violations of children’s rights in Nigeria and across the West and Central Africa region – violations that must be ended by all parties to conflicts. Children must have an opportunity to grow, learn, work and contribute to the healthy future of this country.”
