The Civilian Joint Task Force in Nigeria has released nearly 900 child soldiers, including 106 girls. The militia group says it is committed to end and prevent the recruitment of children. Deji Badmus has the details.

Weeks or perhaps months ago, some of these children and young people were on the frontline fighting Boko Haram.

They were recruits of the self -styled Civilian Joint Task Force, a militia group allied to the Nigerian military in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast of the country. 894 of them are being formally released at this ceremony in line with an agreement with UNICEF for the militia group to release all the child soldiers it has within its ranks.

MOHAMMED FALL UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE TO NIGERIA "I wanted to start by congratulating the leadership of the civilian joint task force for their commitment, their continued effort to protect the rights of children by the separation of 894 children from its rank (militia group) today."

Following from this ceremony, they would undergo a reintegration where some would be enrolled in schools and others who wish to learn any kind of trade would be put through a special skill acquisition programme.

While people are generally happy over the release of the child soldiers, the fact that some of them are as young as 11 has come as a shock to many.

NELSON EKUJUMI POLITICAL ANALYST "I'm sad to hear this that so in prosecuting this war, we were even abusing the rights of children because the effect is that in trying to solve a problem, we are creating another problem that will even be bigger than the problem we intended to solve. So for me I'm not too pleased that some children were recruited to fight Boko. I'm happy that the right thing has been done. I only hope the Nigerian government will do the needful and address the psychological and psychiatric treatment of those young boys and girls such that tomorrow they will not become a menace to the society."

DEJI BADMUS LAGOS, NIGERIA "More child soldiers are still being expected to be released at a later date. But this is surely going to spark a debate especially among child rights advocates in the country who have of been very critical of the government for allowing the militia group to recruit child and young people into their fold in the first place. DB,CGTN,L,N."