Over 120,000 Boko Haram Members Surrender, Half Are Children
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has revealed that more than 120,000 Boko Haram members have surrendered, with over 60,000 of them being children. This unsettling figure highlights the insurgents’ exploitation of vulnerable populations in their efforts to sustain their violent agenda.
In an exclusive interview with Arise News, General Musa discussed the troubling dynamics of Boko Haram’s recruitment tactics. He explained that many of those who joined the insurgency were not willing participants, especially children who were either forcibly recruited or born into the terror group. “Not everyone that is part of it is a terrorist. Some were conscripted, some forced, some enslaved,” he said.
General Musa also disclosed the insurgents’ disturbing strategy of impregnating women to create new generations of fighters. He described a horrific pattern where women were impregnated repeatedly in an effort to produce more terrorists. “If a woman gives birth, four months after, they impregnate her again. Their aim was to produce a new set of terrorists,” he stated.
The Defence Chief expressed concern over the future of children raised in such an environment, warning that they could grow up without empathy, desensitized to violence and atrocities.
To address this, surrendered Boko Haram members are being carefully profiled by security agencies such as the police and the Department of State Services (DSS). Those found to be culpable are being investigated and prepared for trial, while women, children, and the elderly are placed in rehabilitation programs to aid their recovery and reintegration.
