Residents lament rise in child disappearance linked to Boko Haram recruitment
The case of missing children in Borno State has sparked public outcry, following a disturbing video of a young boy confessing to undergoing military training in a forest alongside dozens of other children.
Some residents who spoke with newsmen recounted the agony of their missing loved ones and expressed the fear that the rise in child disappearance cases in the state may be linked to insurgent recruitment efforts.
The development comes as the #BringBackOurGirls movement renewed calls for the Nigerian government to release the findings of the fact-finding committee on the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
With 78 girls still unaccounted for more than a decade later, the group urged transparency and accountability in the search for those still missing.
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A young boy, around 10 years old, confessed to undergoing arms training along with approximately 30 other yet-to-be-identified children in a forest near Ajiri in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State.
A video posted by Zagazola Makama on X reportedly recorded on January 22, 2025, captures the boy demonstrating his knowledge of handling firearms.
He confessed that he and other children of similar age were receiving military drills deep inside the forest.
“They are training us on weapons handling. Ali Shehu, Umar, Alhaji, and Malam Oro are 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 support his claims, the child was handed an AK-47 rifle, which he expertly stripped and reassembled with near-perfect precision.
He also unloaded and reloaded a magazine, displaying an alarming level of proficiency in handling the weapon.
Speaking on the development, residents lamented the increasing rate of missing children in the state, an occurrence they alleged might be connected with the trending video.
One of the residents and a mother of two in Mafa, a location close to the Ajiri forest allegedly said to be the camping area for the children, Aisha Ali, confirmed the disappearance of her six-year-old child for over three years without trace.
“Around February 2022, my last born, Mustapha went missing. At the time, he was just six years old. It was during the late evening, 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 pm.”
She added, “Upon my return, I learnt he stepped out. We searched and searched. Just like a joke, we could not find him again. We just concluded he is dead because his whereabouts remain a mystery we can’t explain.”
Another resident in Maiduguri, the state capital, Muhammad Mamman, expressed concern as he narrated a recent experience.
“Around early last year, my brother lost his child, not that the baby girl died. She was just four years or so at the time. 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.
To corroborate these experiences, an announcer in one of the popular radio stations in Borno State, who pleaded not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said in two weeks, at least one announcement on a missing child would be made.
“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.
Other residents who spoke with The PUNCH called on the government for immediate action, by combing the surrounding forests for missing children.
“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,” Umar Abdulrahman, a resident said.
When contacted, the state police command said there had been at least one reported case of missing children every week in the state.
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