Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Henry Owen
Abuja, Nigeria — Human Rights Civil Society Watch of Nigeria has raised a fresh alarm over what it describes as a deepening national security risk linked to the continued neglect of Almajiri children across Northern Nigeria, warning that the country’s heavy reliance on military responses to insecurity will remain ineffective unless the underlying social crisis is urgently addressed. The organisation said the scale of abandonment, poverty, and exclusion affecting millions of children now poses consequences that extend far beyond humanitarian concern, touching directly on Nigeria’s stability and long-term peace.
In a newly released findings and position report, the civil society group documented the harsh realities faced by Almajiri children who roam urban and rural communities without access to basic education, shelter, healthcare, or protection. According to the report, many of these children survive through street begging and informal labor, often exposed to violence, abuse, disease, and exploitation. HRCSWN argued that this situation represents a failure of governance and social responsibility that has persisted for decades, creating an expanding population of unprotected and disenfranchised youth.
The organisation stressed that the crisis is not only a moral and human rights issue but also a strategic security concern. It warned that abandoned children, deprived of education and economic opportunity, are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation and recruitment by bandit groups, criminal syndicates, and extremist movements operating across Northern Nigeria. HRCSWN noted that insecurity thrives where hopelessness is entrenched, and that the absence of social investment creates fertile ground for cycles of violence that are difficult to break through force alone.
HRCSWN’s report further observed that while the Federal Government has committed substantial resources to military operations, intelligence gathering, and security deployments in the region, these efforts have delivered limited and fragile gains. According to the organisation, security operations may temporarily suppress violence in specific areas, but fail to dismantle the social conditions that continuously regenerate conflict. Hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, and social exclusion, it said, ensure that insecurity resurfaces even after successful military interventions.
“Security cannot be achieved solely through weapons and troop deployment while millions of children are abandoned to the streets,” the organisation stated in its position. “A state that neglects its children is investing in future instability. Protecting Almajiri children is not charity; it is a national security imperative.” The group argued that without a fundamental shift in policy priorities, Nigeria risks perpetuating a system in which insecurity is passed from one generation to the next.
The report highlighted Nigeria’s constitutional obligations to protect the welfare of children, alongside its commitments under international human rights and child protection frameworks. HRCSWN maintained that the ongoing neglect of Almajiri children constitutes a violation of these responsibilities, undermining the credibility of the state and weakening public trust in institutions. It warned that when large segments of the population grow up feeling abandoned by the state, loyalty to national ideals erodes, leaving space for alternative, often violent, influences to take root.
Calling for a new approach, HRCSWN urged both Federal and State Governments to adopt what it described as a human-centred security framework, one that treats child welfare as a core pillar of national stability rather than a secondary social issue. The organisation emphasized the need for regulated, inclusive, and culturally sensitive education systems that integrate Almajiri children into formal learning without stripping away their religious and community identities. It also called for stronger child protection mechanisms to prevent abuse and exploitation.
Beyond education, the group pointed to the economic pressures that drive families to send children away in the first place. HRCSWN argued that poverty, unemployment, and weak social safety nets leave many households with limited choices, reinforcing the Almajiri system as a survival strategy. Addressing insecurity, it said, therefore requires investment in livelihoods, family support programmes, and community-based interventions that reduce the incentives for child abandonment.
The organisation warned that failure to act decisively would allow insecurity in Northern Nigeria to continue reproducing itself across generations, with consequences for national cohesion, development, and peace. It cautioned that as neglected children grow into marginalized adults, the costs of inaction would multiply, placing greater strain on security forces, public finances, and social stability. According to HRCSWN, preventing future violence is far less costly than responding to its aftermath.
HRCSWN concluded by urging policymakers to view the Almajiri crisis not as a regional or cultural issue, but as a national challenge requiring coordinated action across education, social welfare, security, and economic planning. The organisation said sustainable peace in Northern Nigeria depends on whether the country is willing to protect its most vulnerable citizens and invest in their future. The full findings and position report, it added, is available upon request.
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