- Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa revealed that over 60,000 children are among 120,000 Boko Haram members who have surrendered
- Musa emphasized that many Boko Haram affiliates were coerced or enslaved, not voluntary members, highlighting the group’s brutal recruitment tactics
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, disclosed that over 60,000 children are among the more than 120,000 Boko Haram members who have surrendered to authorities.
During an interview with Arise News on Monday, Musa detailed how Boko Haram’s shift in tactics led to the conscription of children and women into their ranks after the group lost territorial strongholds.
Musa clarified that many individuals involved with Boko Haram were not voluntary members but were coerced, enslaved, or conscripted.
“What we realised is that not everyone that is part of it is a terrorist. Some of them were conscripted, some of them were forced, some were enslaved,” Musa explained.
He further elaborated on the harrowing methods used by the group:
“In the past, they would capture communities and force men, especially adults, to join them. They would be beheaded if they refused. So they had no choice. But now that they no longer have a territory, they decided to start impregnating the women. If a woman gives birth, four months after, they impregnate her again.”
The strategy aimed to create a new generation of fighters raised in an environment where violence and brutality were normalized.
“They were trying to produce a new set of terrorists, and those new sets would have been the most dangerous,” Musa warned.
He expressed relief that 60,000 children had surrendered, potentially averting future threats stemming from this grim recruitment strategy.
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