ABUJA — Amnesty International has called for an immediate, independent investigation into a viral video that shows children and teenagers conducting military-style drills while chanting threats to attack Christians in Enugu and Jos.
The video, which surfaced on Monday, shows minors in uniform being directed by adults said to be coordinators of the First Aid group of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), popularly known as the Izala sect.
In the footage, the children are heard according to translation, chanting: “Give me AK! Let me go to Enugu/Jos! Infiltrate the Christians! On a Sunday! When they are happy! When they are worshipping! And I will open fire!” They then mimicked gunfire sounds.
Reacting, Amnesty International described the content as “a vicious display of children being manipulated and indoctrinated with violence and hatred.”
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The rights organisation urged Nigerian authorities to establish the source and location of the video and to review the songs, teachings and curricula used in such youth programmes.
It also called for protection and support for the minors involved, saying they must be shielded from radicalisation and provided with appropriate psychological and educational assistance.
Amnesty said individuals or groups found to have used children to promote religious intolerance must be held accountable.
“Protecting children from hateful rhetoric, militarised drills and extreme indoctrination is an obligation of the state under national and international law,” the organisation stated.
It cited the Child Rights Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, noting that children have a right to protection from exposure to violence, hate speech and recruitment or training in paramilitary activities.
“Using structured youth programmes or religious training groups to instil hostile ideologies compromises the safety, moral development and future of young Nigerians,” Amnesty added.
