Dons Eze
HOW BOKO HARAM’S NEW STRATEGY PRODUCED 60,000 CHILD FIGHTERS – CDS
More than 60,000 children are among over 120,000 Boko Haram members who have surrendered, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, has said.
Speaking on Monday during an interview with Arise News, Musa explained that not all individuals associated with Boko Haram were willing participants, as many were conscripted or enslaved.
Musa revealed that after losing their territorial strongholds, Boko Haram adopted a grim strategy to recruit new members.
The CDS said: “What we realised is that not everyone that is part of it is a terrorist. Some of them were conscripted, some of them were forced, some were enslaved.
“Over 120,000 surrendered. Out of this number, over 60,000 were children.
“In the past, they would capture communities and force men, especially adults to join them. They would be beheaded if they refused. So they had no choice.”
He continued: “But now that they no longer have a territory, they decided to start impregnating the women. And what they do is that if a woman gives birth, four months after giving birth, they impregnate her again.
“They were trying to produce a new set of terrorists. And to us, those new sets would have been most dangerous.
“Children born into a system where violence, killing, and inhumane acts were normalised would not have empathy. That’s why we are happy that over 60,000 surrendered.”
