Introduction

Child soldiers over the past several years have spread across almost all the regions of the world, especially in armed conflict regions, from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the Middle East, Africa, and so on. “Their World”, a children’s charity estimated in 2017 that over 300,000 children were used as soldiers by different groups in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

The use of children in hostilities is not a new phenomenon. Nearly 20 years ago, the report of the expert of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children, known as the Machel Report, brought to international attention the extent and consequences of recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups. Even today, the recruitment of children largely takes place in situations of conflict, though terrorist and violent extremist groups are by no means the only ones perpetrating such grave violations against children.

The involvement of children in the business of terrorist and violent extremist groups entails numerous new challenges for States. First, prevention has become particularly complex, as evidenced by the innovative methods of propaganda and recruitment employed specifically by such groups. This confronts society with a two-edged challenge of firstly effectively tackling terrorism as a security threat while at the same time drawing a line between viewing children as perpetrators or victims who are also endangered.

Secondly, level, as a result of their association with terrorism-related activities, which are classified in international and national law as serious offences, an increasing number of children come into contact with national authorities, in particular with justice authorities. In this context, the questions range from the applicable international legal framework to the legal status of the children and the competent authorities and procedures to deal with them. Such children are commonly regarded as a security risk and subsequently exposed to further violations of their rights.

Thirdly level, there is a lack of understanding regarding the rehabilitation and reintegration measures that can be effective in addressing the particular stigma associated with terrorism, while taking into account the extreme violence that has always characterized the recruitment and exploitation of children. Also in this context, a key challenge is how to build upon the lessons learned from the reintegration of children who have been used in conflict situations and also address the specific issues related to terrorism. The underlying concern, which is at the core of this paper is how state security can be preserved while protecting the rights of the child who is used as pawns in the hands of terrorist organizations, in this case, Boko Haram.

People-with-Placards-for-Boko-Haram-Protest

Globally, over 19 million children are displaced. This is the highest number in history.  This displacement has chiefly formed from conflict areas like Syria, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Iraq, Nigeria, and others.  In Nigeria, out of over 1.9 million displaced persons about 60% are children with one in four under the age of 5 years.  children within this age bracket are still too tender to experience such hard conditions but unfortunately, they live in systems of no alternatives because they solely depend on their adult parents or guardians for survival, and in this case, worse of that their Guardians and parents aren’t even capable of providing and protecting them.

Children in the hands of armed groups and terrorists

When children are recruited by terrorist or violent extremist groups, they carry out a variety of roles within or for the groups. Crucially, how a child is recruited does not necessarily determine the type of role he or she will play, which can vary considerably depending on the situation and the personal circumstances of the child. What remains persistent is the causal link between the recruitment process and the subsequent exploitation of the child, which can assume various forms.

Some children are used in hostilities such as front-line fighting, carrying out executions of hostages or prisoners, or carrying out terrorist attacks, including suicide bombers. Others have support roles as messengers, porters, smugglers, or spies, or they are, in effect, treated as slaves and systematically subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation. Currently, the use of children to carry out terrorist attacks is garnering international attention, both in situations of conflict and in times of peace.

Factors that drive children’s involvement in armed groups and terrorism

The reasons for the recruitment of children by terrorists and violent extremist groups are multifaceted. In a nutshell, we can say that the use of children by terrorist groups provides them with various advantages. The relative cognitive and emotional immaturity of young people leaves them vulnerable to indoctrination and manipulation, and so they face an elevated risk of recruitment by terrorist groups (Beber & Blatman, 2013). As of 2018, children were being used extensively, including by Islamist groups in developing countries such as the so-called Islamic State, Boko Haram, and al-Shabaab. (CRIN, 2018). Some children are recruited by force; others choose to join, incentivized by ideology, a sense of social purpose, or the promise of financial security.

a. Poverty

Poverty has a devastating impact on a child’s life ranging from having poor physical health to experiencing mental health problems, low sense of well-being underachieving in school, from having unemployment difficulties in adult life experiencing social deprivation, and from feeling unsafe to experiencing stigma and bullying at school. Children also have suffered as a result of broken homes or homes where single parenting is the case. Reports from child trend review that in 2017 children who lived in families by a single mother were much more likely to be poor than their counterparts living in families headed by a couple. With global challenges like pandemics, epidemics, disasters, and sundry human-related and existential crises, children’s vulnerability increases especially with no means of basic subsistence.

b. Vulnerability and Gullibility

The vulnerability of children to the flowery propaganda of terrorist organizations is highly fueled by the failures of society. From government to individuals, to regional bodies, culpability rests upon all. Structural problems relating to poverty and marginalization and stigmatization of certain groups, all forms of human rights violations in and of themselves radically increase the vulnerability level of children and their susceptibility to recruitment into terrorist organizations Cameron (2015).

Child gullibility remains a big problem. Experts say that at an early stage of about 8 years and below children cannot help but see themselves in the eyes of their caregivers. They perceive themselves as the caregivers perceive them.  children are people who depend solely on the benevolence of adults. Their formation and opinion at this point are usually ready for information whether true or false, bad or good. At this point too, they cannot also sieve rational information and as such predisposed to what they get from adults. This vulnerability has been exploited in many instances.

Children’s brains are developing and more things are new to them because their filters haven’t engaged. Until they are about 2 years old, children do not have a sense of object permanence. This continues to adjust as they keep growing.  Children are still adapting and building ideas about the world surrounding them.  They have no experience or memory that can work as a clash to make them question what adults say to them at the time.  Children also consider adults as authoritative figures because they don’t have a frame of reference and cannot cross-reference anything said to them.

Research proves that children may be more vulnerable than older people or adults but have the seeds of doubt that are also present from an early age of development and develop dramatically in the elementary school years. Children build experiences from interactions daily and form opinions from those interactions. Their readiness to know and to know just anything predisposes them to information generally. This information becomes harmful when they are bad and from bad people.  When extremists indoctrinate people, they do so by working on their psyche which is done through communication. Children are the most gullible people when it comes to information. Aside from being gullible to information emotions of children are also exposed to influence by adults.

It has been opined that babies can feel interest, distress, disgust, and happiness and this kind of emotion continuously grow on different levels to teenage.  Adolescence is usually characterized as a risk factor in almost every Society. Different experimental tendencies attribute to adolescence and this sometimes isn’t entirely a good outcome. In early maturity of certain brains responsive to reward and later, maturation of regions of the brain involved in an effortful, thoughtful control of behaviour is thought to have underlying enhanced thoughtful adolescent exploration, reward-seeking, and risk-taking. Adolescence is a period of enhanced flexibility because of the mechanism explained above. What you just need to get a child to trust you and believe in what you tell them is to be nice.  This works as an alternative to compulsion in the case of Boko Haram. Even in desperation on other issues, Boko Haram still explores desperate measures in the use of children.

c. Terror and Visibility

The analysis of a six-month data set of ISIL propaganda revealed a total of 254 events that included images of children; 38 per cent of the images were of children engaged in acts of violence or being exposed and normalized to violence. The images are used to shock the public and, at the same time, to show the power and ruthlessness of the group Quilliam Foundation (2016). The world is hugely sympathetic towards to plight of children, Terrorists and violent extremist groups see the use of children as an opportunity to increase the level of global Terror they create and heighten their visibility.

d. Attack on the majority demography

The demographic shift in poor countries, in part due to the spread of HIV/AIDS, has led to an increase in the percentage of children vis-à-vis the overall population, making this age group most available for recruitment and abduction. For instance, in each of the countries affected by the Boko Haram crisis, children constitute over 50 per cent, and in certain cases 60 per cent, of the overall population.

e. Economic considerations and effectiveness

When recruiting children, terrorist and violent extremist groups, as well as armed groups in general, benefit from notable economic advantages. Whether they are used in support roles or as combatants, children are usually paid less (if at all) and require less food to survive. In parallel, the evolution of warfare and in particular the prevalence of small arms has reduced the effectiveness gap between a child and an adult. Not only is the trade in small arms poorly regulated, but the use of small arms is especially easy, making them more accessible to children (Machel Study). While power and control over weapons used to be in the hands of older members of society, children are no longer constrained by the age groupings that limit who could participate in warfare (Singer, 2006). Accordingly, children remain less expensive than adult combatants, but not necessarily less effective when used to carry out violence.

f. Control

Children are more easily intimidated and far easier to control, both physically and mentally than adults. Children are more inclined to quickly show loyalty to authority figures and are especially susceptible to following the beliefs and behaviours of those they love and respect, an element that is especially relevant when families are involved in the recruitment process (UNODC). The groups, who strive to ensure their future survival, may see the use of children as an “investment in the future generation” Quilliam Foundation (2016).

g. Tactical advantages

Children, particularly girls, are increasingly being used as spies, for delivering messages, carrying materials, and undertaking suicide attacks. The reasons for this are often pragmatic: children have less understanding of the risk they face and therefore display less anxiety. They are also more likely to do as they are ordered, and they generally benefit from the advantage of arousing less suspicion, which can be a crucial asset, for instance in getting closer to targets.

Boko Haram insurgency

Following the peak in Boko Haram attacks and related violence between 2014 and 2015, the number of casualties attributed to the group dropped significantly. The Nigerian military, with support from Benin Republic, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, has pushed Boko Haram out of several of their controlled areas in northeastern Nigeria even though the group still retains control of some villages and territories and continues to launch deadly suicide strikes and abductions, mostly women and children. A faction of Boko Haram known as Islamic State West Africa in February 2018, abducted more than one hundred students, who were released a little more than a month later. Global Conflict Tracker reports that over 37,500 people have been killed by Boko Haram Terrorists. Over 2.5 million are displaced and 244,000 are estimated refugees.

Boko Haram insurgency and children

Northern-Nigeria-Girls-in-Classroom

Children have been constantly recruited into the Boko Haram sect for years, with new each passing year seeing an increased number of cases.  The Boko Haram sect, as is the case with other terrorist groups and organizations, thrives heavily on propaganda in other to scout for and earn the loyalty of perpetrators. This points to the fact that children are more vulnerable to being misused and misled by the propaganda of various terrorist organizations. In 2017, UNICEF reported a boy named Ibrahim who was forcibly recruited as a child soldier after his village was attacked. Dwyer (2017) reported that Ibrahim’s father was killed and they forced him to join their ranks.  Ibrahim about 10 years was forced to carry out many domestic chores before eventually getting into training to use guns and explosives. He was compelled to serve as a slave to the senior members of Boko Haram. Children were to keep the night shift of surveillance while the older members slept.  Ibrahim explained how every night he heard children crying in anguish because of torture and other kinds of maltreatment they faced. He explained how he could visit his village but could not stay long otherwise the Boko Haram group would come after him.

Ajakaye (2019) in a UNICEF research report revealed that over 3,400 children had been recruited in Nigeria into the deadly Boko Haram sect between 2013 and 2017, with over 432 killed in 2018. The surge has only heightened the fear of future use and radicalization these children have been exposed to and their corresponding dangers to society.  Children’s unsuspecting disposition and perceived innocence are used to perpetrate these crimes against humanity most regrettably. Children have been co-opted into activities beyond their rationality, because of their age and ignorance of the consequences of their actions.  Yomi (2016) reports that the use of child soldiers by Boko Haram comes as a result of the Nigerian Army’s fight and clampdown on the sect. This, he explains is a new tactic used to carry out their activities. From 32 in 2014, they were about 151 suicide attacks in 2015.

Hit-and-run attacks and suicide bombings are depriving people of essential services destroying vital infrastructure and sowing fear. Boys are forced to attack their own families to demonstrate their loyalty to Boko Haram, while girls are exposed to severe abuse including sexual violence and forced marriage to fighters. Some are also used to carry or detonate bombs, activities they would not have otherwise had the mind to carry out.

Bukarti A, B (2019) explains the experience of Kellumi who was recruited at age 14 and committed many crimes and had to kill his mother, a crime he has since not forgiven himself for. He went through a deradicalization programme at Operation Safe Corridor, designed by the Nigerian government for Boko Haram repentant members.

The high point of child involvement was the abduction of over 276 Chibok schoolgirls in 2014. This abduction saw the involvement of global leaders and influencers which compelled the government of Nigeria to act more aggressively in the fight against Boko Haram especially in their involvement with children. The kidnapping led to discussions between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, brokered by the International Committee for the Red Cross, 103 girls have since been released and some are still in captivity.

In 2019, the Nigerian army handed over 25 child soldiers aged between 8 and 16 years to the Nigerian government. These children were severely abused and sexually violated. Since 2016, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Pernille Ironside said that over 1627 children have been rehabilitated. Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of the Boko Haram conflict. They have witnessed violent attacks and multiple killings from the Boko Haram insurgency.

UNICEF reports that many children have been separated from their parents for many years without any hope of reuniting. Some have died in the process and to the oblivion of their parents. UNICEF also reports that the number of displaced children increased by over 60 per cent, from 800,000 to 1.3 million children, and as such one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in Africa. This is a complex emergency and also a crisis of children’s care and protection. In northeast Nigeria, and neighboring countries increasingly, children are killed, maimed, abducted, and recruited into a militia and armed groups. They are also constantly exposed to sexual violence; schools are targeted and humanitarian access is limited. About 90 per cent of displaced families are sheltered by some of the world’s poorest communities, placing additional strain on already limited resources.

Children: Victims or perpetrators? 

The question of children being perpetrators in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has been an issue of discussion within the intellectual circus. Every perspective has been explored to check the legal and moral possibilities of children being perpetrators in their involvement in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Children have been spotted as child soldiers and have led deadly strikes in suicide bombings and other attacks. Their vulnerability and gullibility place them as victims and unsuspecting. This perception has absolved them of similar attention even when they carry out deadly strikes. Nigeria has been drastically hit by Boko Haram over the years and the Government has been fighting relentlessly to push such insurgency away. Daily, new tactics are used by the group to strike and the Government has stood foot for foot with them. Children have become their battle axe over the years.

What all of these point to is the fact that children cannot be held culpable for their decisions to join terrorist and violent extremist groups. On two levels, firstly because they lack the required ability to weigh up options before making decisions, and secondly because they are mostly caught up in a situation of no alternatives, such as lack of access to the bare minimum requirements for sustenance, having to survive under conflicts situation and lacking the needed atmosphere of love and tutelage. This exposes them to indoctrination that set them up to become tools in the hands of extremists.

Need to protect children’s rights

Because of their young age and total dependence on older people, children deserve the rights to be protected. This protection does not come because they are future adults but because they are humans and deserve protection from the state. Children face one form of right abuse or another, especially from situations revolving around their birth like poor homes, conflict-stricken areas, wedlock especially caused by teenage pregnancy, etc.

The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has put to rest the back-and-forth argument on the extent of the rights of a child.  Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the Nigerian government in 1991 and has since been sustained. The Nigerian Child Rights Act also posits that the unborn child should be protected hence, the rights of the unborn child to protection against harm, etc.  The existence of laws that protect children commonly defines them as vulnerable gullible and very delicate.

Children born into harsh socio-economic crises already face serious human rights violations, as they are forced into surviving in an atmosphere that is so toxic that it threatens their productivity and upward mobility. There is a need to employ a human rights approach in dealing with situations involving juvenile crimes especially when it involves terrorism.

A society that respects rights would not violate the rights of its citizens in a bid to solve the problem of terrorism and this is very simple, it is because two wrongs do not make a right. If it is wrong to violate rights, then in all of our biddings it must be ensured that we still respect the rights of citizens no matter how grave the opposition we are fighting is, in this case, terrorism.

Conclusion

Children all over the world have been victims of humanitarian crises, poverty and hunger, political unrest, lack of access to proper education, and abuses sexual or otherwise. 

The recruitment of children into terrorist organizations and violent extremist groups is a pitiable situation that many children get choked into. They are shackled and chained into a situation with no alternatives, even when it appears there is an option. This is due to the vulnerable and gullible nature of children, which makes it such that they can be easily swayed and deceived into making decisions they would not have made had their sense of rationality been fully formed. This is the limbo that child soldiers in Boko Haram exist in.

In solving the problem of terrorism, states have developed various counter-terrorism models aimed at reducing the high rate of terrorist activities. The need to use a humanitarian approach in the global counter-terrorism framework has become necessary, to rescue children from the terror of extremist groups and terrorist organizations. A humanitarian approach to counter-terrorism will view children as vulnerable ‘tools’ in the service of terrorist groups, and look to deliver them from the ordeals they find themselves in.

According to Article 40 (1) of the Convention on the Right of the Child; ‘States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.

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