ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Residents in Borno State have expressed outrage after a viral video showed underage children, suspected to be terrorist child soldiers, dressed in full military camouflage in a forest.
The video, which surfaced on Monday, reportedly shows about 18 children wearing military-style uniforms and standing in formation while jubilating in what appears to be an isolated forest location.
Although the exact location has not been officially confirmed, residents said the language spoken in the video suggests the children may be from the Ngoshe axis in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.
The clip has sparked serious concern about the possible recruitment or abduction of children by armed groups operating in the North-East.
Reacting to the video, Junaid Jibril Maiva, Secretary of the Coalition of Borno South APC Youth Group, described the development as a “ticking time bomb.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, Maiva urged the government to take urgent action.
According to him, failure to respond decisively could worsen the security situation in the region.
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He warned that the situation could escalate if authorities do not intervene quickly.
Another social media user, Muhammad Abdulrahman, suggested the children may be hostages being used by terrorist groups.
He noted that the presence of civilians and abducted victims could make military operations against the group more complicated.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in Borno State, Zuwaira Gambo, said the children seen in the video could be victims of abduction.
According to her, armed groups sometimes forcefully recruit or adopt children from streets, communities, and even schools.
She explained that recent attacks in parts of the state had resulted in the abduction of many women and children, raising the possibility that the children in the video may be among those victims.
Gambo added that terrorist groups sometimes sew military-style uniforms and force abducted children to wear them.
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The commissioner noted that before the recent attacks, the state government had made significant progress in preventing child recruitment.
She said several programmes were introduced, including: awareness campaigns, school clubs and education initiatives, engagement with traditional and religious institutions, creation of children’s parliaments
According to her, the state government had also rescued and rehabilitated about 200 vulnerable children, enrolling them in school and reuniting them with their families.
She said these efforts contributed to the removal of Borno from the list of regions associated with child recruitment by terrorist groups.
Despite these efforts, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently warned about a renewed rise in child recruitment by armed groups in the North-East.
According to UNICEF Child Protection Manager Tarek Akkad, 1,120 children were recruited by armed groups in the region in 2024 alone.
The figure includes 525 boys and 595 girls, highlighting the scale of the problem.
UNICEF urged state governments in the region to strengthen measures aimed at preventing the recruitment of children into militant activities.
The Ngoshe community recently came under the spotlight after an attack on a military base in which several civilians were killed and more than 300 people were abducted.
Security experts warn that the appearance of children in militant-style formations could signal a dangerous new phase in the insurgency if not addressed quickly.