Nigeria says Boko Haram forces teenager to kill hostages, spy on markets

The Nigerian government forces on Tuesday opened an investigation on a 17-year-old terror suspect, who was nabbed while on a mission to spy on two crowded markets in the northeastern state of Borno.

The boy was sent on the mission by a commander of the terror group Boko Haram, said Ibrahim Abdullahi, head of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Borno State.

According to the security commander, the boy had during confession said he was forced to kill 13 people held captive by Boko Haram.

The suspect was held captive for three years by Boko Haram in a forest at Kalabalge district of Borno State.

He has already told investigators that more than 500 children of his age were initiated as child soldiers in the forest by the terror group.

During the period, they were trained to dismantle and repair AK-47 rifles, he added.

The suspect's parents have been identified by security forces as internally displaced persons taking refuge at a camp.

The suspect will be handed over to the military for further investigation and profiling, Abdullahi told Xinhua.

Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths and displacement of 2.3 million people in Nigeria since 2009.

The Nigerian government has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging the fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, last December.

Government forces are intensifying aerial and ground patrols in the country's northeast. Endit