Why Boko Haram Kidnap Children – Presidency

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said Boko Haram often resorts to abducting children from rural communities to replenish its ranks after suffering losses in its fighting force.

Bwala made the disclosure during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he spoke on the dynamics of the insurgency and the challenges facing Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts.

According to him, the terrorist group targets vulnerable communities whenever it loses members, forcibly recruiting abducted children into its ranks.

“When Boko Haram starts to lose their members, they go to villages and carry children and take them to the bush and recruit them; these are people you recruited against their will,” Bwala said.

The presidential aide explained that some of the individuals who later surrender to security agencies were initially kidnapped and forced to join the insurgents, rather than voluntarily becoming members of the group.

He noted that when such individuals escape from terrorist camps and surrender to government authorities, they are not automatically treated as combatants deserving of lethal force.

“If something happens in the camp and they escape, they come to the Nigerian government and say they have repented. The Nigerian government will not shoot them,” he added.

Bwala said the handling of repentant insurgents is guided by international humanitarian principles and conventions governing armed conflicts.

According to him, the complexities of modern warfare require governments to distinguish between those who willingly joined terrorist groups and those who were abducted or coerced into fighting.

He, however, acknowledged the concerns expressed by many Nigerians over reports that some rehabilitated former insurgents have allegedly returned to terrorist activities.

Bwala recalled that the Governor of Borno State had previously suggested that some renewed attacks in the North-East could have been linked to individuals who returned to insurgent groups after undergoing rehabilitation.

“The other part of your fear, as expressed by most Nigerians, is that we have had cases where some of them ran back. Even the Governor of Borno once said that some of the attacks that resurged probably have connections with some of those who ran back,” he said.

He maintained that such occurrences are not unique to Nigeria, noting that defections and recidivism are realities in conflicts around the world, including within established state institutions and intelligence services.

According to Bwala, while the possibility of former fighters returning to insurgency cannot be completely ruled out, authorities must continue to balance national security concerns with international legal obligations in dealing with individuals who surrender after being forcibly recruited or participating in armed conflict.