Commander Makes Case For Children

The Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Abba Dikko has called on the public to support children rescued from Boko Haram captivity to re-integrate them into the society.
Dikko made the call while handing over 28 rescued children to the UNICEF and Borno State Government yesterday in Maiduguri.
The Tide source reports that the children comprised 24 males and four females rescued by the military in the ongoing clearance operation against the insurgents.
Dikko said the call was imperative to enable the children re-integrate into the society, realise their dreams and contribute to the social and economic development of the country.
“We took them away from harm’s way and I am glad we did. They have bright future but they were taken away, hypnotised, and put into some kind of state of mind that makes them not even understand what they are into.
“They are confused and given a kind of education which is completely a derailment process that should not be allowed to continue.
“I hope their parents, community and society will accept them back and encourage them to be normal children again”.
Dikko explained that the handover was in accordance with the United Nations (UN) convention for the protection of children from danger and the insurgents’ influence.
He noted that if they were properly managed, it would assist in understanding the psyche of the insurgents on how they coerced and manipulated the children into the dastardly acts.
The commander reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to end insurgency and rescue persons still under the insurgents’ captivity.
The UNICEF’s Chief Field Officer in Maiduguri, Mr Geoffrey Ijumba stressed the need for the community to support the children to realise their potentials and contribute to the development of the society.
Ijumba disclosed that about 338 children were released to the UN agency by the military in 2018.
According to him, the UN agency in collaboration with the Borno State Government was working to rehabilitate the rescued persons and support re-uniting them with their families as well as re-integrating them into the society. The UNICEF official lauded the military over the release of the children, adding that: “it is an indicator that the military we are dealing with is a professional institution”. Hajiya Hauwa Mai-Musa disclosed that the state government had so far rehabilitated over 23, 000 persons rescued by the military from the insurgents’ captivity.
Hauwa said the state government was supporting the rehabilitation and re-integration of the affected persons to resume their normal lives.