The Nigerian military Monday handed over a total of 151 ex-Boko Haram combatants to the Borno government for rehabilitation and reintegration into the society after 52 weeks of de-radicalisation.
Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, Maj-Gen Bamidele Shafa, stated this during the handing over of the repentant insurgents at the Bulunkutu Rehabilitation Centre Maiduguri Monday, explaining that that the programme was designed to encourage Boko Haram fighters to lay down their arms and embrace the path of peace.
“I thanked the Chief of Defence Staff for organising this programme,. Today we have 151 repentant combatants comprising 132 adults and 19 minors, who completed 52 weeks of de-radicalization process at its centre in Gombe,” he said.
“The clients confessed their past misdeeds, denounced membership of Boko Haram group, asked for forgiveness and took oath of allegiance to Nigeria. I believe they are now good citizens to re-join the society,” Gen. Bamidele assured.
Gen. Bamidele said that the clients were exposed to formal literacy classes, skills acquisition and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) as well as drug and psycho-therapists during their training.
He explained that the Operation Safe Corridor was designed to encourage Boko Haram insurgents to surrender, provide de-radicalisation and rehabilitation programme, to enable them re-join the society.
In his remarks, the state Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur, commended the Federal Government for the implementation of Operation Safe Corridor to rehabilitate and reintegrate repentant insurgents into the society.
Kadafur said that the state government had adopted effective measures to accept the insurgents willing to voluntarily surrender and to create an enabling environment for them to re-join the society.
He said that the state government had also directed community leaders to sensitise their people on the need to accept the rehabilitated insurgents, and warned against infringement on their rights.
The deputy governor added that the state government would support rehabilitated insurgents to set up their businesses, to enable them to engage in productive activities and contribute to the development of the society.
Ladi Jossy, Maiduguri
