Nigeria has denied allegations it has detained thousands of children for suspected links to Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

A report released by US-based group Human Rights Watch says children have been held for years in “horrific conditions”.

The group has urged the country to release the children.

But the military said the report was “false”, saying they were treated as “victims of war and not as suspects”.

While the army does detain women and children they say have been indoctrinated by Boko Haram, the children are “adequately fed, profiled and de-radicalised before their release”.