LIVE UPDATES
According to the United Nations Children's Fund, more than 6,800 children in the Northeast have experienced serious human rights violations.
In a press release on Friday, Cristian Munduate, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria, bemoaned the cruel effects of war on children, nine years after 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok and 96 of them are still held captive.
She stressed that the conflict's "devastating reality" has a frightening impact on schooling that would likely last for decades.
She continued by saying that the latest kidnapping of 80 kids in Zamfara State highlights how vital it is to take action to protect kids in Nigeria.
The figures are alarming, but the truth is tragic, she added. Nine years have passed since the horrifying kidnapping of the Chibok girls, yet the nightmare persists as kids continue to be abducted, forcibly recruited, killed, and injured while having their futures snatched away.
"We cannot ignore the agony that Nigerian children are experiencing. To ensure that they are raised in safety, have access to education, and have the chance to reach their full potential, we must do everything in our power.
"Since 2014, there have been over 2,400 incidents of grave violations that have been verified, affecting over 6,800 children in the North-East," Munduate stated in elaborating on the catastrophic impact.
The majority of violations are the recruitment or use of children by armed organizations, according to 700 verified occurrences, followed by kidnappings of children (693 incidents), killing and maiming (675 incidents), and other violations (693 incidents).
Around 2,295 teachers are said to have died in attacks between 2009 and 2022; more than 19,000 instructors were relocated; more than 1,500 schools were closed due to insecurity; and 910 schools were completely destroyed.
In addition, the UN organization tasked the government with rehabilitating any minors stumbled upon during hostilities or freed from armed organizations.
