The growing crisis of missing children in Borno State has sparked widespread alarm, especially after a video surfaced online featuring a young boy detailing his experience undergoing military training in a forest.
The PUNCH reported that residents have voiced their distress over the alarming rate of child disappearances, fearing a connection to insurgent recruitment activities.
The situation has also reignited demands from the #BringBackOurGirls movement for the Nigerian government to disclose findings from the 2014 fact-finding committee on the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
With 78 of the abducted girls still unaccounted for, the movement has urged transparency in efforts to recover the missing.
A video posted by Zagazola Makama on X and reportedly recorded on January 22, 2025, shows a young boy, estimated to be around 10 years old, recounting how he and approximately 30 other children are receiving combat training in a forest near Ajiri, Mafa Local Government Area.
“They are training us on weapons handling. Ali Shehu, Umar, Alhaji, and Malam Oro are the ones training us. We are at least 20 to 30. We are all young boys; some are bigger than me, while I am older than some of them,” the boy stated.
To demonstrate his training, he was handed an AK-47 rifle, which he expertly dismantled and reassembled with precision.
He also demonstrated his ability to unload and reload a magazine, showcasing an alarming level of firearms proficiency.
The video has intensified fears among local residents, many of whom have experienced the mysterious disappearance of children.
Aisha Ali, a mother from Mafa, recounted the disappearance of her six-year-old son, Mustapha, who vanished over three years ago.
“Around February 2022, my last born, Mustapha, went missing. At the time, he was just six years old. It was during the late evening. All of a sudden, his whereabouts could not be traced. The last thing I remembered was seeing him eating while I was going to a friend’s place around 3 p.m.,” she said.
Upon her return, she learned that Mustapha had stepped out, but despite extensive searches, he was never found.
“In fact, we just concluded he is dead because his whereabouts remain a mystery we can’t explain,” she added.
A Maiduguri resident, Muhammad Mamman, narrated a similar ordeal, explaining how his brother’s four-year-old daughter disappeared without a trace early last year.
“She just went missing. We immediately announced on the radio, yet she was nowhere to be found to date. Either dead or alive, we can’t explain,” he said.
A radio station announcer, who requested anonymity, confirmed that child disappearance cases are frequently reported.
“We have always announced cases of missing children. I can say at least we see such cases once every two weeks. This is alarming,” he said.
Residents are calling on authorities to investigate the forests for missing children. Umar Abdulrahman, another resident, urged immediate security action.
“With that video, security agencies must rise to the task. These places are not unknown. It may and may not, but we can’t continue to hear cases of missing children on local radio and a boy came out to say that he and others have been camped in a forest receiving training, yet the government will be comfortable,” he said.
The Borno State Police Command acknowledged the persistence of missing child cases, with spokesperson Nahum Daso confirming that at least one case is reported weekly.
“Yes, there have always been cases of missing children. In aggregate, we can say at least one per week.
“Often, we do get the children back. I don’t have the current statistics with me, but we have reunited many missing children with their families.
“Most times when children get missing like that, the suspicion has always been that they have been kidnapped or for other reasons. However, compared to other places, the cases recorded here are very low,” he said.
Daso, however, downplayed concerns over child soldier recruitment, dismissing the video as an outdated incident.
“You know, some of these clips are mostly old ones. From us, we don’t have any threat in regards to maybe children being used as child soldiers, but it used to be in the past. For over a decade, we have not recorded any cases like that,” he stated.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Brig Gen Abdullahi Sabi Ishaq (retd.), attributed the alleged child soldier training to the Islamic State of West Africa Province.
“What you saw on that video is not part of the known activities of Boko Haram. That is the trademark of ISWAP.
“They take small almajiri children who are suffering and malnourished, get them to the bush, feed them, and take care of them before training and turning them into combatants.
“Does that boy look malnourished? No. It is the evidence of good living they are having there,” he said.
When asked about plans to rescue the children allegedly being trained, Ishaq acknowledged ongoing military efforts but highlighted operational challenges.
“You know, the war is still on and the state is using the non-kinetic model while the army is carrying out operations.
“We must acknowledge that the army is doing its best. However, I must tell you that one thing the army is seriously considering is the issue of collateral damage.
“If the Air Force visits these locations and detonates bombs, considering the little children there, the whole of Nigeria will rise and say that they have burned children. So these are some of the challenges.
“As for us, we rely on the army for this type of operation. Our Civilian Joint Task Force cannot handle it, especially as it concerns ISWAP. We relied more on military strength,” he explained.
He further emphasized the need for modern warfare strategies, stating, “War is no longer fought as it was in the olden days. There is a need for technology that will prevent the soldiers from moving about in the bushes with legs and vehicles, to minimize casualties.”
#BringBackOurGirls Renews Demands for Chibok Report
The #BringBackOurGirls movement has used the resurgence of child disappearances to demand answers regarding the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
In a statement issued on Sunday, spokesperson Jeff Okoroafor criticized the government for withholding the findings of the Sabo fact-finding committee.
“The #BringBackOurGirls movement wishes to remind President Bola Tinubu’s administration of its constitutional duty to protect all citizens.
“To this effect, the administration has a duty to provide an account of the status of the rescue of the remaining Chibok girls to their families and the Nigerian people.
“We reiterate the importance of bringing closure for the families of the remaining 78 missing school children.
“Critically, the Tinubu administration has, like their predecessors, failed to release the Sabo fact-finding committee report, despite our movement’s request, including through an FoI process,” the statement read.
The movement recalled that 276 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14, 2014.
While 141 of the abducted girls have regained freedom, 78 remain missing, with concerns that some may have been integrated into terrorist groups.
Okoroafor urged the public to join efforts in demanding full disclosure of the government’s investigations and the fate of the missing Chibok girls.
