Boko Haram's Child Recruitment Tactics Revealed

On Wednesday, Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, disclosed that Boko Haram employs strategies to recruit children, particularly when they experience losses in their ranks. During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Bwala explained that the terrorist group invades villages to kidnap children, forcibly recruiting them into their ranks.

He stated that these children are taken against their will and, if they manage to escape and return to the Nigerian government, they often claim to have repented. Bwala emphasized that the Nigerian government does not retaliate against these individuals.

He also mentioned concerns raised by Nigerians regarding the resurgence of attacks, which may be linked to those who have returned from Boko Haram. Bwala acknowledged the complexities of armed conflict and the realities of recruitment and defection in warfare, referencing established institutions and foreign intelligence.