Recruitment Of Children Soldiers By Bandits In North East Nigeria Worries – NOA Bauchi

By Ude Ogbonnaya Israel

The National Orientation Agency Bauchi has expressed deep concern over an intel suggesting recruitment of Children by insurgents and Bandits In North East Nigeria and other parts of the country.

Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Bauchi Nuru Yusuf Kobi expressed the concern on Thursday while addressing pupils of Aungwan Borno Primary School urging teachers, parents and Religious leaders to be on alert to tame such act.

The NOA state Director said the call is imperative due to the ploy of insurgents and Bandits to target and brain wash these younger innocent Children into joining them and hence serving as tools to cause mayhem in the society.

He revealed that “The National Orientation Agency have just received a letter from the National security adviser on the increased trends of Terrorist recruitment of child soldier across the country.

The Terrorist are taking advantage of the economic situation and lack of education particularly in the North East area and it is worthy to note that this trend has a great security implication on the country as well as that of the future of the affected Children”, he said.

According to him, while teachers and other school authorities teach and closely watch the pupils in schools, parents and Religious leaders should do even more at Home and worship centres.

Nuru Yusuf Kobi added that UNICEF report had indicated that Insurgents target Children between the ages of 8 and 12 to carry out their acts in most African countries including Nigeria.

He worried that it is the neglected Children that fall victims of these disgruntled elements in the society as they are in turn recruited as informants, suicide bombers and Children soldiers.

In his response, the Coordinator of students behaviours modification of the school, Aminu Shehu said that discipline of Children from the ages of time has been a collective role of parents teachers and elders.

He lamented that Children today are out of control due to the fact that they are not collectively been monitored by others who are not necesarily their parents.