CHILDREN OF THE CALIPHATE: BOKO HARAM INDOCTRINATION AND THE LOST GENERATION OF NORTHERN NIGERIA

This article examines the indoctrination, recruitment, and exploitation of children by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, highlighting the socio-psychological, educational, and developmental consequences for affected youths. Drawing on recent empirical studies, United Nations verification reports, and human rights documentation (2020–2026), the study demonstrates how Boko Haram’s tactics including abduction, forced recruitment, ideological conditioning, and gender-based violence have contributed to the emergence of a “lost generation” in northern Nigeria. Using a qualitative meta-analytic methodology, the article synthesizes findings across international policy reports and peer-reviewed research. The findings reveal systematic child rights violations, severe trauma exposure, long-term educational disruption, stigmatization, and major reintegration barriers. The study concludes that without integrated psychosocial rehabilitation, educational reconstruction, and community-based reintegration frameworks, the long-term developmental consequences will persist across generations. Policy recommendations emphasize multi-sectoral child protection systems, gender-responsive programming, and preventive structural reforms.