This paper explores the limits of the ‘conveyor-belt’ conception of radicalization, by analysing the life histories of (former) members of one of Africa’s most notorious ‘radical’ movements, northern Nigeria’s Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (a.k.a. Boko Haram). Through the stories of six people who in some way became part of the organization, the paper complicates the intuitive conveyor-belt narrative that violence is driven by ideological indoctrination. It shows that there are many different pathways that end up in violence, many of which are less intentional and more contingent than the conveyor-belt model suggests. Of course, religious conviction is often an important element of these pathways, as are family and friends, opportunistic incentives, and coercion. But the sequencing of organization membership, conviction, and violence can vary immensely, with serious implications for what it means to ‘radicalize’. Moreover, pathways into violence are often characterized by information gaps on the part of the ‘radicalizing’ individual, rapidly changing circumstances, and-perhaps most importantly-irreversible decisions with unforeseen consequences.