<p class="">The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 223 children, including 10 girls, have been cleared of suspected ties with armed groups.</p>
<h1>UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Mr Peter Hawkins, made the disclosure in a statement signed by its Bauchi Field Office, Communication Officer, Mr Samuel Kaalu, on Wednesday.</h1>
<p class="">Hawkins said that the children were released late in the night of March 3 from Nigerian Army administrative custody and Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison.</p>
<p class="">According to him, some of the children have been missing for up to four to five years, with many presumed dead by their families.</p>
<p class=""><em>“They were released to the safe custody of Borno Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, UNICEF and Borno authorities in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria.</em></p>
<p class=""><em>“The release of these children is a huge step forward and one to be welcomed and celebrated.</em></p>
<p class=""><em>“The children will now immediately enter a programme that will help them reintegrate into their communities, re-engage with families, and take the first steps toward creating a new life and means of livelihood.</em></p>
<p class=""><em>“These children deserve to have a normal childhood and now require our full care and support to re-enter the lives that were so brutally interrupted by this devastating conflict,</em>” he said.</p>
<p class="">The UNICEF representative said that since 2016, about 3,559 people associated with armed groups had been released from administrative custody, including 1,743 children comprising 1,125 boys and 618 girls.</p>
<p class="">Hawkins noted that they had gone through the Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Centre in Maiduguri, and had since been reunited with their families.</p>
<p class="">“<em>Some have been placed in the most appropriate alternative care, where they were accessing rehabilitation services and reintegration support in their communities.</em></p>
<p class=""><em>“UNICEF is working closely with Nigerian state authorities to help with reintegration programmes for all children formerly associated with Non-State Armed Groups (NSAG), and others affected by the ongoing conflict in northeast Nigeria.</em></p>
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<p class=""><em>“Age and sex appropriate community-based reintegration interventions include an initial assessment of their well-being, psycho-social support, education, vocational training, informal apprenticeships, and opportunities to improve livelihoods.</em></p>
<p class=""><em>“At least 12,264 people formerly associated with armed groups as well as vulnerable children in communities have accessed such services since 2017, ”</em> Hawkins said.</p>