Untreated Trauma Threatens to Fuel New Generation of Violence — Borno Govt

The Borno State Government has warned that untreated psychological trauma among children affected by insurgency could fuel a new generation of violence, recruitment into extremist groups and social instability, turning the mental health crisis in Nigeria’s conflict-affected communities into a national security threat.

The warning came as the state disclosed that more than 1,400 schools had been destroyed across the North-East, 2,295 teachers killed and about 19,000 displaced by years of insurgency, leaving nearly three million children in urgent need of emergency education support.

The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Usman Kadafur, who represented Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, gave the warning at the two-day National Dialogue on the Psychosocial Impact of Conflict on Children in Nigeria, held in Maiduguri.

Kadafur said the consequences of the insurgency could not be measured only by lives lost, infrastructure destroyed or people displaced, stressing that the deepest and potentially most dangerous impact was the psychological damage inflicted on children.

He warned that children who grow up with untreated trauma, grief, anger and mistrust could become vulnerable to manipulation by violent extremist groups and criminal networks.

“If left untreated, it creates a pipeline of bitterness, alienation, and vulnerability to recruitment, perpetuating the very cycle of violence we are fighting to end,” he said.

The deputy governor said Borno’s experience had shown that military victories alone could not guarantee lasting peace, arguing that security operations must be accompanied by deliberate efforts to heal children and rebuild their capacity to trust their families and communities.

“Trauma does not end when the guns fall silent. It embeds itself in their developing brains. It alters their cognition, behaviour, and their capacity to trust,” Kadafur said.

He called for a national mental health framework specifically targeting children affected by conflict, alongside the deployment of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers and counsellors to rural communities, internally displaced persons’ camps and schools.

Kadafur also demanded the integration of psychosocial support into counter-terrorism and anti-radicalisation programmes, describing schools as critical instruments for rebuilding children’s sense of safety and normalcy.

“Schools are not merely a place for learning arithmetic and grammar. For a conflict-affected child, the classroom represents normalcy, safety, and hope,” he said.

The warning received further backing from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who said untreated trauma should be viewed as a national security concern rather than solely a humanitarian problem.

Representing Ribadu, the Director of Medical Intelligence, Dr Patience Omokri, said children exposed to terrorism, insurgency and communal violence had lost parents, homes and the innocence of childhood, while some had experienced abduction, recruitment, displacement and exploitation.

“A traumatised child is not only a victim. If left unsupported, they can become a vector of instability,” Ribadu said.

He warned that unresolved emotional wounds could manifest in aggression, mistrust, impaired judgment and alienation, leaving vulnerable children exposed to extremist recruiters, traffickers and criminal networks.

“The resilience of Nigeria depends on the resilience of its children,” he said.

The scale of the crisis was further highlighted by UNICEF, which disclosed that 270,864 children in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe require mental health and psychosocial support under the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.

The UNICEF representative, Francis Otuochi, said conflict continued to expose children to fear, anxiety, family separation, disrupted learning, violence and trauma, urging government to embed psychosocial support into child protection, healthcare, education and social welfare systems.

Professor Andrew Zamani, who delivered the keynote address, said the psychological consequences of prolonged conflict had become a national emergency.

Zamani recalled encountering a child in Borno who had lost his parents and siblings to insurgency and expressed a desire to obtain a gun to avenge their deaths before killing himself.

The professor said the case illustrated how unaddressed grief could mutate into revenge and further violence.

He warned that the problem could become intergenerational, noting that some children exposed to conflict two decades ago were now adults and parents but had themselves grown up without stable parental care.

“You can’t give what you don’t have,” he said.

The dialogue therefore called for a shift in Nigeria’s response to conflict-affected communities—from a predominantly security and humanitarian approach to one that places children’s psychological recovery, education and long-term social reintegration at the centre of peacebuilding.

Former Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, urged the Federal Government to establish a dedicated budget line for children growing up in conflict zones, while calling for stronger provisions and implementation mechanisms under the Child Rights Act.

He also urged universities to invest in research into effective psychosocial interventions for children affected by conflict.

Representing the North East Development Commission, the Borno State Coordinator, Engineer Muhammadu Umar Maska, said sustainable peace in the region required reconstruction, youth empowerment, livelihood restoration, support for displaced persons and social cohesion alongside military and security interventions.

“Development should be regarded not as a mere economic activity, but as a powerful instrument of conflict prevention and peacebuilding,” he said.

The message from the Maiduguri dialogue was clear: rebuilding schools and defeating insurgents may restore physical security, but without addressing the psychological wounds carried by children, Nigeria risks allowing the consequences of today’s conflicts to become the violence of tomorrow.