Presidency Explains Why Boko Haram Abducts Children for Recruitment
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, disclosed the motives behind Boko Haram’s kidnapping of children.
He said that when the insurgents suffer losses, they raid villages, seize children, and take them to the bush for forced recruitment.
Bwala added that if any of these children escape and return to the government, they are not shot because Nigeria follows the United Nations Convention on armed conflict.
He noted that fears expressed by Nigerians about former militants returning to carry out attacks are realistic, citing past statements from the Borno State governor.
Bwala concluded that such dynamics — defections, recruitment, and the possibility of former fighters rejoining hostilities — are facts of warfare, even seen in state institutions and foreign intelligence.
