Language and Radicalisation: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Boko Haram Recruitment Communication in Northern Nigeria

This study presents a critical discourse analysis of the recruitment communication strategies of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, examining the linguistic mechanisms through which radical ideology is encoded, disseminated, and made persuasive to target populations. The Boko Haram insurgency has produced devastating humanitarian consequences in the North East zone, and understanding the linguistic architecture of its recruitment discourse is essential for the development of counter-radicalisation communication strategies. The research adopts a critical discourse analysis framework combining van Dijk's sociocognitive model with argumentation theory and rhetorical analysis of religious discourse. A corpus of 80 texts including audio sermon transcripts, printed pamphlets, and documented recruitment conversations was compiled through cooperation with security research institutions and translated from Hausa, Kanuri, and Arabic with the assistance of certified translators. The analysis examines the construction of in-group and out-group ideological categories, the deployment of religious authority, the use of fear and grievance narratives, and the strategic simplification of theological concepts in recruitment messaging. Findings document a rhetorically sophisticated communication system that deploys emotional appeals, authority construction, and identity-based argumentation to construct a compelling alternative social identity for marginalised young men. The study makes an original theoretical contribution to conflict linguistics and recommends that counter-radicalisation strategies engage directly with the linguistic and discursive mechanisms identified. Keywords: radicalisation discourse, Boko Haram, critical discourse analysis, recruitment, Northern Nigeria.