Human Rights Watch, HRW has accused Boko Haram of abducting scores of women and girls and of using children as young as 12 in its combat operations.
In a statement published on its website on Friday, the New York-based group also accused the Nigerian government of failing to account for hundreds of men and boys rounded up during the armed group’s four-year insurgency.
The report comes weeks after the government extended the state of emergency it imposed in May in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to try and flush out insurgency in the region.
HRW’s Africa director, Daniel Bekele said of the armed group; “For a group that claims to be religious, Boko Haram’s tactics are the most profane acts we can imagine.
“The killing and mutilation of ordinary Nigerians, the abduction and r*pe of women and girls, and the use of children for fighting are horrifying human rights violations,” the rights group added.