Systemic Marginalization: The Criminalization and Militarization of Nigerian Youths

Children are the future of any society. If you want to know the future of a society look at the eyes of the children. If you want to maim the future of any society, you simply maim the children. Thus the struggle for the survival of our children is the struggle for the survival of our future. The quantity and quality of that survival is the measurement of the development of our society.^[1]

 -Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (1993: 76)

Introduction

On November 1^st 2024, seventy-six Nigerian teenagers, aged 14 to 18, appeared before the Federal High Court in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. During the hearing, four of them collapsed from malnutrition after enduring two months of detention. They faced charges of treason, felony, and inciting mutiny (Obiejesi and Ewokor, BBC, 2024). What were they truly guilty of?

From August 1st to 10th, 2024, citizens rallied against severe economic hardship, exacerbated by policies under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Initially peaceful, the protests escalated into confrontations between demonstrators and security forces, fueled by frustration and hunger. Over 700 people were arrested, including teenagers from low-income backgrounds who were protesting the harsh conditions of their daily lives. These young Nigerians were later tried as adults, with bail set at ₦10 million each—a figure far beyond their reach.

The sight of malnourished teenagers collapsing in court ignited widespread public outrage. Once again, the Nigerian government had chosen to silence dissent rather than addressing the poverty and injustice driving these protests. This pattern of criminalizing the youth has become disturbingly common. Instead of protecting young citizens, the state treats them as adversaries, subjecting them to profiling, unlawful arrests, and violence.

The #EndBadGovernance protest is just one in a long history of youth-led movements in Nigeria. One cannot begin to talk about the history of the Nigerian government without the interjection of recurrent youth-led protests—from armed insurgencies like the 2006 Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to the more subtle protests like the #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance movements, most of which end in one outcome: brutal repression. Section 40 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Acts (Cap A90) provides that “the right to protest is a constitutional right that may endure so long as the lawful deeds of the protesters are not met” (Oyiga 48). However, the Nigerian government labels protests as acts of treason. This mischaracterization allows authorities to impose punitive measures, stifling dissent and discouraging civic engagement.

Such actions highlight a deeper systemic issue. According to Henry Giroux, “Democracy is linked to the well-being of youth, while the status of how a society imagines democracy and its future is contingent on how it views its responsibility towards future generations” (xiii). In Nigeria, however, the well-being of young people is consistently disregarded. The government has increasingly shed democratic principles, operating more like an authoritarian regime that marginalizes and criminalizes its youth. If any discourse of the future has to begin with the issue of the youth (Giroux xiii), the Nigerian youths must continue acting as “critical citizens” in public spaces, using every medium possible to fight for their future. But how can they achieve this in a society where they are repeatedly treated as what Giroux calls the “disposable population”?

Beyond criminalization, Nigerian youths are often militarized, exploited to serve the interests of the very politicians who seek to displace and dismiss them from socio-political spaces. Terms like “unknown gunmen,” “election thugs,” and “anti-protest agents” are now entrenched in Nigeria’s lexicon, reflecting the weaponization of young people. Politicians recruit and arm vulnerable youths to suppress dissent, intimidate opponents, and disrupt elections. This exploitation not only endangers youth but also destabilizes the broader society. Efforts to resist these injustices, such as through social media campaigns, have faced severe crackdown. The government’s 2021 ban on Twitter is a stark example of its attempts to stifle youth-led advocacy. Despite such challenges, young Nigerians continue to find innovative ways to demand accountability and fight for a better future.

This paper examines the systemic marginalization of Nigerian youths, focusing on their criminalization and militarization. It explores how young people are unfairly branded as “lazy,” profiled based on appearance, and subjected to unlawful detention and violence. Simultaneously, the government exploits them as agents of disruption, further undermining their agency and destabilizing the country. By shedding light on these dynamics, this paper seeks to contribute to ongoing discussions about youth empowerment and governance in Nigeria, advocating for policies that protect and uplift the nation’s young people rather than oppress them.

Warring Youths: The Era of Terror and Domestic Terrorism

In recent years, Nigeria has faced escalating security challenges, ranking 17th among the world’s most dangerous countries according to the World Population Review^[1]. While the Boko Haram insurgency remains a significant issue, the rise of domestic terror groups, including the so-called “unknown gunmen,” has added a new layer of complexity. These extra-judicial killings have become alarmingly common, yet they often receive scant attention in traditional media unless a high-profile figure is targeted. For instance, political elites such as Ahmed Gulak, former special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Justice Stanley Nnaji of the Enugu State High Court, and Okiemute Mrere, Chief Provost of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Imo State, were victims of these targeted killings. These well-known cases overshadow the countless unnamed victims among the general population.

Initially, the government and media attributed these attacks to youth members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group advocating for the Republic of Biafra’s secession. However, many Nigerians suspect that these “unknown gunmen” are politically motivated thugs acting at the behest of state actors. This theory is not far-fetched, as the political elite have a history of exploiting the youth population to fuel socio-political unrest and nationwide insecurity.

The government’s ineffectual response to the country’s rampant kidnappings further fuels public skepticism. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reveals that between 2019 and 2023, there were 662 kidnapping incidents in North-Western Nigeria alone. While the report showed a decline in 2024, unofficial records indicate a troubling spike, with nearly 1,000 people kidnapped in the first three months of the year. This disparity raises questions about the accuracy of government-released data and whether traditional media narratives are being manipulated.

Beyond domestic terrorism, the outright militarization of youths has been a pervasive strategy for disrupting societal order. One glaring example is the use of political thugs—armed groups created by political parties to manipulate electoral processes. These thugs become especially active during election seasons, intimidating voters, destroying ballot boxes, and ensuring victory for their patrons. The 2023 general elections were marred by such incidents, with voters reporting physical assaults and shootings at polling units. For example, Tobi Olayinka, a 31-year-old voter, recounted escaping a shooting at her polling station, saying, “I ran faster than I ever had. I flew over flower pots and gutters” (Van Zeijl, Al Jazeera). Despite the hopes of Nigerian youths for change, the elections reinforced a familiar pattern of violence and electoral malpractice, leaving many disillusioned.

Another troubling practice is the mobilization of underage voters by political parties, particularly in Northern Nigeria—concerns have been raised severally about the sightings of underaged voters at polling booths. These children are provided with falsified voter IDs, which often inflate their ages and even list marital statuses. Some of the teenage #EndBadGovernance protesters at the Federal High Court hearing on November 1st were a part of these underage voters. This is one of the underlying reasons why they were tried as adults. This further fueled public outrage as it was clear that the government was criminalizing the children manipulated to fulfil the malicious desires of the political elite. This tactic not only undermines the democratic process but also exploits children, turning them into tools of systemic malpractice.

The exploitation of Nigerian youths is further exacerbated by poverty, unemployment, and hunger, conditions perpetuated by successive administrations. Many youths are coerced into becoming political thugs or anti-protest agitators for meagre sums–such as the ₦2,000 handed to youths to disrupt the 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests. These confrontations between protesters and anti-protesters epitomize the government’s dual perception of its youth—either as criminals to suppress or as instruments to deploy.

Ultimately, the militarization of Nigeria’s youth reinforces a damaging stereotype, painting them as agents of violence rather than contributors to national development. This systemic marginalization ensures that young Nigerians remain trapped in a cycle of exploitation and criminalization, serving as both victims and tools of systemic violence.

Criminalization and the Social Problem

The average Nigerian youth faces dual forms of marginalization: structural neglect and systemic targeting by state institutions. On the one hand, economic hardship, unemployment, and poor access to education continue to hinder their potential. On the other hand, they are targeted and objected to scrutiny by security forces meant to protect them.

The educational system keeps deteriorating and is heavily influenced by governmental policies, making it most likely for university students to endure frequent strikes during years of study, often experiencing delays before graduation. Upon graduating, many join the 600,000 students entering the job market annually, where the youth unemployment hit an all-time high of 53.40% in late 2020. Despite these challenges, Nigerian youths remain a vital force, driving economic innovation through technology start-ups, digitalized businesses, and the gig economy (Nwoke and Orhero xv). However, the engagement in these ventures has made them the targets of the carceral states meant to protect them and uphold their rights. Their progress is constantly undermined by a state that views them not as assets to be nurtured, but as threats to be controlled. It is customary for any society to wish that its youths thrive, but in Nigerian society, “Youth is no longer considered the world’s future, but as a threat to its present” (Giroux quoting Durand, 4).

The Nigerian security forces’ approach to maintaining order has led to widespread targeting of youths. Young people are frequently profiled based on their appearance, lifestyle, or even ownership of everyday items like iPhones and laptops. Encounters with police and other security forces often escalate into extortion, brutality, and, in many cases, fatalities. During interstate travel, security checkpoints become sites of arbitrary harassment, where youths are forced to pay bribes or endure detention under deplorable conditions.

The situation is exacerbated by the infamous Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), established in 1992 to combat violent crimes. Over time, SARS devolved into a notorious unit accused of widespread human rights violations. In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, security operatives killed 18 civilians in just two weeks while enforcing curfews (“Nigerian security for kill 18 during curfew enforcement”, 2020). This was in addition to the 105 complaints of human rights abuses that were received by the National Human Rights Commission. Personal accounts, including my own, reveal the routine profiling and mistreatment of youths for trivial reasons, such as wearing dreadlocks or questioning unlawful detentions. Some have even been killed for not meeting bribe demands, and others unlawfully detained with exorbitant bail amounts that family and friends are unable to pay until they pass away in custody from unfavourable conditions and torture. Most times, their bodies are not released to their families.

Security forces often justify their aggression as efforts to combat cybercrime. Youths suspected of being “Yahoo Boys” —a term for cybercriminals— are targeted based on superficial indicators like hairstyles, vehicles, or electronic devices. This profiling stems from a perception that legitimate financial success among young Nigerians is implausible. Chinnah argues that the rise in cybercrime is tied directly to the state’s failure to develop and empower its youth, fueling frustration and desperation (43). However, instead of addressing the root causes of cybercrime, including economic frustrations and lack of opportunities, the government focuses on punitive measures meted out to innocent youths.

The atrocities committed by SARS reached a horrifying peak in 2023 when viral media from popular anonymous blog Gistloversblog exposed extrajudicial killings and the inhumane treatment of detainees at SARS’ Awkuzu Division. Videos revealed bodies of young detainees —over 25 reported missing for months— piled in storage. As this issue incited public outrage and gained international attention, the SARS headquarters invited the offenders to Abuja for an “investigation”. Till date, there has yet to be a tangible outcome of this investigation, highlighting systemic failures in ensuring justice. Most cases of youth marginalization in Nigeria often end in the miscarriage of justice like this. The several youth deaths that have occurred over the years, especially the massacre of peaceful protesters at the #EndSARS movement, is a testament that the Nigerian government, repressive and authoritarian, would rather war against youths demanding justice and a better future than tackle the socio-political issues plaguing the country.

Beyond security forces, systemic neglect has further marginalized Nigeria’s youth, with inflation rates soaring to a 30-year high of 34.6% in November 2024, exacerbating poverty and unemployment. Giroux describes such policies as emblematic of an “era of disposability,” where market-driven values perpetuate suffering for millions (19). Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, this pattern of neglect has only worsened, further plunging the working-class youth population into oppression, leaving them trapped in cycles of abject poverty and  frustration. In a society that criminalizes its youth rather than empowering them, the potential for progress is stifled. Addressing these systemic failures is critical for Nigeria to build a future where its youth are seen not as threats, but as the leaders they are meant to be.

Youth Response and Socio-Political Activism

Nigerian youths have distinguished themselves from previous generations through their unyielding resistance to systemic violence and marginalization. Over the past decade, they have utilized a mix of methods to resist oppression–some peaceful and others violent in the most hideous forms. Armed with a growing awareness of their mandate to guard the values of the society and the power to subvert and transform it (Nwoke and Orhero xiii), Nigerian youths are reclaiming their places in society through protests, digital activism, and grassroots movements aimed at exposing injustice and demanding accountability. As Frederick Douglass famously asserted, “A man who will not fight for himself, when he has the means of doing so, is not worth being fought for” (Blackpast, 2007). Despite systemic efforts to limit their opportunities and resources, Nigerian youths remain resilient in their quest for social emancipation, leveraging every available tool.

One of the manifestations of youth resistance in Nigeria is seen in the nature of the public protests led by youths in the nation’s history. A key example is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), considered to be one of the most violent youth-led movements, which operated between 2006 and 2009. Paul Ugor describes that 50,000 young men and women in the oil-rich Niger Delta region mobilized themselves and took up military weapons against the Nigerian government and oil conglomerates like Shell, Chevron, Agip, Total, and other oil-servicing and construction companies operating in the Delta area (132). The armed youths, demanding a fair share in the oil wealth from their lands, kidnapped foreign expatriates working for multinational oil companies, vandalized state and company-owned oil installations, attacked security institutions and their personnel, and a host of other violent activities that crippled oil production in the region for five long years, reducing Nigeria’s crude oil production at some point by about 7,500 barrels per day (Ugor 132). At the end of this insurgency in June 2009, 20,192 youths were officially demobilized and registered into the presidential amnesty programme commissioned by the federal government of Nigeria (133).

However, the Nigerian government did not seem to learn from this situation as the marginalization of youth moved from being mostly socio-economic to incorporating extreme cases of socio-political, socio-cultural, and systemic violence against youths without any intervention from the government. This situation of utter subjugation presented the build-up to the most significant movement in Nigerian history—the #EndSARS protest. From October 8-10 2024, Nigerians, mostly youths, flooded the streets of Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria to protest against police brutality, following the release of videos of police brutalizing and murdering unarmed and innocent citizens on Nigeria’s social media space which roused disgust and anger. Nigerians all over the country and even in the diaspora lent their voice to the cause, using online and offline sources to demand the immediate dissolution of the police unit.

Well-meaning Nigerians contributed to the welfare of the protesters using NGOs like the Feminist Coalition (Femco), a group of young Nigeria feminists founded by Odunayo Eweniyi and Damilola Odufuwa, and decentralized financial means like crypto. Tochukwu Nwokolo points out that despite the efforts of the Nigerian government—freezing the bank accounts of suspected protest leaders and banning cryptocurrency, up to $380,000 was donated by Nigerians and supporters of the movement in less than a fortnight until Femco stopped receiving donations (6).  Nwokolo notes that the government persistently searched for a protest leader they could “bribe, threaten, cajole, coax, or even kill to break the backbone of the protest” (4). However, they found none. Daniel Okeke describes this approach as the tactic of “striking the shepherd to disperse the sheep” (10), a strategy frequently employed by Nigerian authorities to quash dissent. Contrary to the government’s assumption that the protest was merely “a media tantrum that would fizzle out in time” (Okeke 10), it evolved into a powerful movement. This movement transcended ethnic and religious divisions, uniting the youth against a shared adversary—the Nigerian government and its police force.

Nigerian celebrities such as Falz, Runtown, Wizkid, and Mr. Macaroni, amongst others, also played an integral role in amplifying the message of the protest to the extent that it caught the attention of Twitter’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey, who reportedly tweeted about the protest and even gave the #EndSARS hashtag its own emoji on Twitter.  Although the protest resulted in the tragic loss of life and an escalation of police brutality, which initially made it seem futile, it was ultimately seen as a success. This was because, during those few weeks, Nigerians got a glimpse of a better life, and “they saw that all that was needed was a unity of purpose, a common goal, a united front, and all resistance would melt away” (Nwokolo 7). Other notable youth-led protests include the 2012 Occupy Nigeria movement, which opposed the removal of fuel subsidies and the resulting price hike under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, and the 2024 End Bad Governance protest, which responded to the rising cost of living during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which began in May 2023.

Youth activism also found expression in art, drama, music, journalism, and literature. School unions and mainstream media were utilized as democratic public spheres and alternative spaces for governance, livelihood, and social expression. The Nigerian youth resigned to using social media as a primary tool to perform critique, employing Twitter as an official platform where Nigerian patriots criticize the government. The #EndSARS protests were also practically coordinated on this platform. In a fascist government that aims to silence all voice of dissent and exile public intellectuals, Twitter became a tool for inciting socio-political change and rallying against corruption and authoritarianism. Afro-pop also became revolutionized and internationalized sources of criticism against the government and other corrupt institutions, using satire to explore issues of corruption, poverty, extra-judicial killings, miscarriage of justice, and even the prevalent militarization and criminalization of youths. African China’s “Mr President”, Timaya’s “Dem Mama”, Eedris Abdulkareem’s “Jaga Jaga”, and Falz’s “This is Nigeria” and “Yakubu” are popular examples of these political songs.

It is important to mention that some prominent Nigerians of the older generation, like 2024 presidential election candidate Peter Obi, are allies playing a role in supporting youth empowerment and addressing systemic injustice. However, the Nigerian youth have also had a fair share of moral and social conflict with the older generations. Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s infamous remark in 2018, labeling Nigerian youths as “lazy”—for their constant “disruption of national peace” and demand for “free” things—underscored the disconnect between older and younger Nigerians. The younger generation’s detachment from the “silent citizen” ideologies of the older generation marked another significant instance. In fact, the #SoroSoke hashtag (“speak up”), which emerged during the #EndSARS protests was a poignant identifier that Nigerian youths were not as silent as their parents and would speak up in the face of injustice. The resourcefulness of the Nigerian youth and their ability to forge on and take charge of their lives while working to transform society distances them from being embodiments of laziness. They have thrived not because of, but despite the government (Nwoke and Orhero xv) and are occupying spaces in tech, management, art, film and entertainment, health, real estate, and many more.

Conclusion

The Nigerian youth is not backing down. They are like a proverbial fishbone in the throats of Nigeria’s fascist leaders and have continued to thrive despite the government’s numerous failed attempts to dispose and displace them. As Giroux observes, youth are frequently depicted in the media as troublemakers (xv). However, the Nigerian youth have also usurped similar media spaces to assert their resourcefulness and indisposability.

The stark reality is that Nigerian youth have been systematically excluded from institutions of power. Reversing this requires deliberate action to integrate them into these structures through inclusive policies and practices. Will the current administration and entrenched authoritarian systems allow this integration? Are they prepared to embrace inclusive governance and break away from the deeply ingrained “sit-tight” culture that dominates Nigeria’s aging political class?

Beyond governance, addressing the root causes of youth marginalization is crucial. Economic inequality, unemployment, lack of quality education, and police brutality must be tackled to create a society where young people can thrive. For Nigerian youth, the #EndSARS protest offered a fleeting glimpse of what a better and more just Nigeria could look like. Therefore, as Nwokolo aptly notes, there will be no rest until that image is actualized (7). To quote Douglass, “Those who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.” The Nigerian youth are resilient to strike many blows of determination to reclaim their agency and drive the transformation of their nation.

^[1] Inspired from the preface of Henry A. Giroux’s Disposable Youth: Racialized Memories and the Culture of Cruelty.

^[2] Nigeria is also currently ranked 8 on the Global Terrorism Index of 2024, with a Security Threat Index of 8.7 index points, which is higher than the world average of 4.87.

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