Child Soldiers of Boko Haram

Why (and How) Children Join Armed Groups in Northeastern Nigeria

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2309596
AutoresHakeem Onapajo (0000-0002-7845-8586, Legislative Centre for Security Analysis, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Nigeria; Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume61
Fascículo2
Páginas1686-1702
Data de publicação2025-02-18
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00219096251318237
OpenAlexW4407710152
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas20

Child recruitment by armed groups has become a phenomenon in Nigeria's experience with terrorism and insurgency. Based on qualitative interviews with former child soldiers and key actors involved in the conflict in Northeast Nigeria, the study examines the process of recruitment of the underaged by Boko Haram and the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) with focus on the drivers, methods of recruitment, and the reintegration programs. The study is premised on the theories of radicalization and argued that the three P's (Push, Pull, and Personal) thesis is relevant to understand child recruitment in the conflict. The study observed the strategic importance of children to the armed groups and demonstrates the existence of the three P factors in the recruitment of child soldiers by the armed groups. The study further observed challenges in the disengagement, rehabilitation, and reintegration processes and recommends strategies to address those challenges

African studies · Armed conflict · Boko haram · Criminology · Insurgency · Join (topology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Health and Conflict Studies · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence