Jamilu Mohammed, an economic analyst and author with expertise in security issues in northern Nigeria, recently spoke about the recruitment tactics of Boko Haram
In an interview with Daily Trust TV shared on YouTube, Jamilu revealed how the group targeted university students for recruitment. He said when he was still at ATBU, Boko Haram infiltrated the university to recruit students, however, with the support of Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN), they were able to put up a fight against Boko Haram
Jamilu also questioned the effectiveness of government's de-radicalization programs, highlighting the challenge of de-radicalizing students who had been influenced by Boko Haram's ideology within a short period
In Jamilu's words: "I knew how Boko Haram came to our university, ATBU, to recruit students, MSSN was strong then and we put up a fight against them. For them to come and recruit people from the university and go; look at the university student, an intellectual and then he has been changed, then you say you are going to change him in two, three days or one year".
Watch the video of the interview from 44:20