Godsent Ogbebor
Boko Haram Recruitment: Outrage as Video Links Missing Borno Children to Insurgent Training Camps
Public outcry has erupted in Borno State following the emergence of a disturbing video showing a young boy confessing to undergoing military training in a forest alongside dozens of other children.
The viral video, reportedly recorded on January 22, 2025, and posted by Zagazola Makama on X, features a boy, around 10 years old, demonstrating knowledge of firearms and claiming that at least 30 other children were undergoing similar training in a forest near Ajiri, Mafa Local Government Area.
“They are training us on weapons handling. Ali Shehu, Umar, Alhaji, and Malam Oro are the ones training us. We are at least 20 to 30. We are all young boys; some are bigger than me, while I am older than some of them,” the boy revealed.
The footage also shows the child expertly dismantling and reassembling an AK-47 rifle, reloading a magazine, and demonstrating firearm proficiency, raising concerns over the possible recruitment of children by insurgents.
Residents of Borno, speaking on Sunday, linked the rise in child disappearances to insurgent recruitment.
Aisha Ali, a mother in Mafa, recounted the mysterious disappearance of her six-year-old son, Mustapha, in 2022, stating, “We searched and searched. Just like a joke, we could not find him again. We just concluded he is dead because his whereabouts remain a mystery.”
Similarly, Muhammad Mamman from Maiduguri recalled how his brother’s four-year-old daughter vanished without a trace early last year.
Read also: U.S. Congressman Scott Perry Accuses USAID of Financing Boko Haram, Others
A local radio announcer, speaking anonymously, confirmed that at least one missing child case is reported every two weeks.
The Borno State Police Command confirmed frequent cases of missing children, with spokesperson Nahum Daso stating, “In aggregate, we can say at least one per week. Often, we do get the children back, but some cases remain unresolved.”
However, Daso dismissed the video as outdated, asserting, “For over a decade, we have not recorded any cases of children being used as soldiers.”
Read also: Tragedy Strikes Borno: Suspected Boko Haram Terrorists Kill Scores of Farmers.
Brig. Gen. Abdullahi Sabi Ishaq (retd.), Special Adviser to the Borno State Governor on Security, attributed the recruitment tactics seen in the video to the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).
“They take small almajiri children, care for them, then train them as combatants,” he said, stressing that military action must consider collateral damage risks.
Meanwhile, the #BringBackOurGirls movement has renewed calls for the Nigerian government to release findings on the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
With 78 girls still unaccounted for over a decade later, the movement criticized successive governments for withholding the Sabo fact-finding report and demanded urgent action.
Although, as concerns over child abductions and insurgent recruitment grow, residents urge security agencies to investigate the claims and comb suspected training camps to rescue missing children.
