Troops of the Joint Task Force (North-East), under Operation Hadin Kai, have arrested 15-year-old Tijjani in Borno State over his alleged role in an attack that led to the death of Brig.-Gen. Oseni Braimah and three other soldiers. The arrest occurred on Sunday in Ngamdu, where Tijjani was intercepted while reportedly en route to purchase food for his group. In a video released by the Nigerian Army, Tijjani, speaking in Hausa, admitted involvement in attacks on Benisheik and Ngamdu. He stated he had been sent from Jilli with N850,000 to collect logistics in Ngamdu but was apprehended before completing the task. He added that he left his colleagues behind in Jilli and was unaware of their current status.
The killing of Brig.-Gen. Oseni Braimah, Commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade, was confirmed by Nigeria's Defence Headquarters on April 10. Major General Michael Onoja, Director of Defence Media Operations, disclosed that the general died alongside two officers and two soldiers during a fierce gun battle with insurgents in Kaga Local Government Area. Tijjani's arrest has not been separately acknowledged by authorities beyond the army's video statement.
The arrest of a 15-year-old boy allegedly carrying N850,000 for militant logistics exposes the deep entanglement of minors in the insurgency machinery in the North-East. Tijjani is not just a suspect; he is a symptom of a collapsed social structure where children are weaponized, radicalized, and deployed as foot soldiers or couriers in a conflict that has long blurred the lines between combatant and victim.
This case underscores how insurgent networks have adapted by relying on youth and informal supply chains to sustain operations, even as military pressure intensifies. The use of a teenager to move large sums of cash suggests a deliberate strategy to exploit invisibility — minors often evade suspicion, making them effective logistical assets. The fact that he was dispatched from Jilli, a known flashpoint, highlights the persistent operational reach of these groups in remote communities where state presence remains weak.
Ordinary residents in Borno's rural enclaves are caught between fear of reprisal from insurgents and the risk of being mistaken for collaborators. Families now face the grim reality that their children can be recruited or coerced into conflict, while the military's reliance on battlefield confessions raises concerns about due process and rehabilitation.
This reflects a broader pattern: counterinsurgency efforts continue to focus on tactical arrests and battlefield gains, but without parallel investment in deradicalization, youth reintegration, and community trust, the cycle of recruitment will persist.
