A/HRC/42/42/Add.1 the 2003 conflict, a former leader, François Bozizé, had recruited Chadian mercenaries and fighters to depose the President, Ange-Félix Patassé, with the promise of financial compensation. According to some sources, some mercenaries, not receiving the payment they had been promised, became disgruntled and remained in the country, where they continued to engage in criminal activities and armed violence. In retaliation, President Patassé reportedly engaged the services of mercenaries from the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the command of Jean-Pierre Bemba. He is also said to have engaged Abdoulaye Miskine, a Chadian heading an armed group. Chadian nationals were also reportedly among the members of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the remote south-eastern parts of the Central African Republic (A/HRC/36/47/Add.1, paras. 32, 38 and 43). 48. The Working Group was informed that Chad had initially provided military assistance to mitigate conflict, but many of the deployed men had subsequently defected and joined the armed groups in the Central African Republic. They had engaged as mercenaries and in various illegal activities, with the intention of self-enrichment and obtaining wealth, including through illegal taxation, arms trafficking and the exploitation of natural resources such as gold and diamonds. Religious and ideological motivation 49. Many reports have highlighted a religious or ideological motivation among individuals joining Boko Haram, including foreigners. The religious origin of Boko Haram, founded in the early 2000s by Mohammed Yusuf in Nigeria, who preached and espoused what many referred to as a dangerous and erroneous form of Islam, has attracted members. The preachings were also disseminated in Chad, which led to people being radicalized and joining Boko Haram. When Mohammed Yusuf was killed in 2009, activities by Boko Haram became more violent and gruesome, under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau. The group moved from Maidaguri in northern Nigeria and expanded its attacks into various countries in the Lake Chad region. 50. The Working Group was informed that among the religious schools in the Maidaguri area, and elsewhere in this region, were Koranic schools where children, many from various bordering countries, became radicalized and were easy targets for recruitment into Boko Haram. Children from Chad were allegedly taken to these schools and left there with a minder. Some parents allowed their children to go, some in the hope of better opportunities, others for religious reasons. Some of the children were left stranded by their minders, and there were reports that some had to be reunited with their families. 51. The information received highlighted the strong linkage between poverty and the high vulnerability to radicalization among individuals who were socioeconomically disadvantaged. Many young individuals, mostly men, were drawn out of a life that seemed meaningless and hopeless in terms of opportunities and ambition. They viewed joining groups like Boko Haram as a means to achieving a promised “paradise” with a multitude of wives and prosperity. In many ways, even when motivations to join an armed group appeared to stem from ideological or religious roots, there was always a sense that the ultimate goal was to escape the poverty and dire situation that many Chadians have been experiencing. Women 52. Like men, some women reportedly joined armed groups for ideological reasons or to escape extreme poverty. However, it should be noted that the majority of women in those groups were abducted and forced against their will to become wives of fighters and victims of sexual slavery; in recent years, women and girls have been increasingly used as suicide bombers. One case relayed to the delegation involved a woman who joined Boko Haram for $1 and was forced to be a suicide bomber. 53. Women also reportedly associated with Boko Haram by following a husband or partner who had willingly joined the group. Those women had few alternatives, given their economic dependence on and relationship with their husband or partner. Many women who reportedly joined for ideological reasons later tried to escape, having been subjected to violence and abuse. Those who escaped faced stigmatization and social exclusion in their communities, as well as constant suspicion that they were still connected to Boko Haram. 8