Residents in Borno State have expressed deep concern over a viral video showing underage children, suspected to be terrorist child soldiers, dressed in full camouflage in a deserted forest.
The video, obtained on Monday, shows about 18 children fully kitted in military uniforms, assembled in a straight line while jubilating in an isolated forest.
While the exact location is yet to be confirmed, residents say the language spoken by the children suggests they may be from the Ngoshe axis in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno South Senatorial District.
In a Facebook post early Monday, the Secretary of the Coalition of Borno South APC Youth Group, Junaid Jibril Maiva, described the situation as a ticking time bomb.
He wrote, “These appear to be child soldiers, possibly from the Ngoshe axis, judging by the language they are speaking. If this is not a ticking time bomb, then I don’t know what is.”
He called for immediate government action to stop the trend, warning of future repercussions.
“The government must act deliberately and decisively, or this war risks consuming us all,” he added.
Meanwhile, another Facebook user, Muhammad Abdulrahman, suggested the children might be hostages.
“A reason the Nigerian Air Force can’t wipe them off overnight; the hundreds of people they are holding hostages,” he said.
When contacted for comment, Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, said the children may have been forcefully adopted following recent attacks.
“I have not seen the video, but, categorically, I can tell you from experience that such children are victims that are sometimes forcefully adopted from streets and even schools.
“I’m sure you are aware of the recent attacks where it was said that many women and children were abducted. So, they can just sew uniforms and wear it on them,” she added.
The Commissioner noted that before the recent attacks, the Borno State government had made significant efforts to prevent children from being recruited or adopted by armed groups.
“We have programmes like awareness creation, school clubs, visits to traditional and religious institutions, and setting up of children’s parliamentarians. We even have free education in the state and many other efforts which have been made to increase children’s enrolment as well.
“Some months ago, we picked about 200 children from the street, rehabilitated them, enrolled them, and reunited them with their families. All these efforts put together made the UN delist the state, from the list of places where there is child recruitment into terrorism. You can Google them. We don’t have cases of child soldier recruitment anymore if not for the recent attack,” she stressed.
In February, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) raised the alarm over a rise in child soldier recruitment by terrorists in the North East.
UNICEF Child Protection Manager, Tarek Akkad, said in 2024 alone, 1,120 children were recruited across the North-East.
The agency was quoted as saying, “In Northeast Nigeria, armed groups continue to recruit and use children, impacting boys and girls in different but equally harmful ways.
“In 2024, a total of 1,120 children were recruited, comprising 525 boys and 595 girls.”
UNICEF called on governors in the region to intensify efforts to halt the trend and strengthen measures to prevent mass recruitment into militancy.
The Ngoshe community recently made headlines following an attack on a military base in which many civilians were killed and over 300 were abducted.
The PUNCH