Case study III: Nigeria

Children have been at the blunt end of the violence accompanying the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (hereafter referred to as Boko Haram) conflict. Estimates indicate that Boko Haram factions, including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), recruited around 8,000 children in north-east Nigeria between 2009 and 2016 alone, and the UN verifies that Boko Haram recruited and used 1,385 children in 2017–2019. The lack of data means that both numbers are likely to be far higher in reality.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions