5,000 Repentant Boko Haram Reunited With Families

The National Counter Terrorism Centre, under the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has revealed that approximately 5,000 repentant Boko Haram former member have been reunited with their families.

Ambassador Mairo Musa Abbas, Head of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), stated this during the second day of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum. She added that none of the ex-combatants have returned to the battlefield following six months of the deradicalisation programme.

Ambassador Abbas, who spoke at the third panel discussion themed “Managing Boko Haram Exits and Demobilisation of Armed Groups,” mentioned that a harmonised strategy would assist the governors of the Lake Chad region in addressing their common issues.

She explained that the deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration programme for ex-Boko Haram fighters, known as Operation Safe Corridor, has successfully reintegrated over 5,000 repentant Boko Haram members into society.

“Under the Operation Safe Corridor programme, we have deradicalised over 5,000 ex-combatants of Boko Haram and reunited them with their families. They are now using the skills they acquired during the six-month deradicalisation programme in the camp to sustain themselves within their communities,” she said.

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She also noted that collaborators from the National Orientation Agency (NOA) are present in 774 local governments across Nigeria, working alongside traditional and religious leaders to establish monitoring mechanisms that allow them to track the progress of these individuals after their reintegration into the community.

Ambassador Abbas added that the “Borno Model,” a state-led strategy aimed at reintegrating individuals who have left extremist groups like Boko Haram, has complemented the federal government’s efforts to promote peace in the country.

“We have always asserted that the ‘Borno Model’ is a model of necessity, and we have recorded significant success with it, as many repentant fighters have been reunited with their families,” she stated.

However, she called on the governors in the Lake Chad region and stakeholders to harmonise their strategies to ensure that they operate on the same level.