Federal Govt To Transfer 613 Repentant Terrorists To States

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, has said 613 rehabilitated low-risk repentant terrorists will be transferred to their state governments for reintegration into the society.

Irabor made the disclosure during the 5th stakeholders’ meeting of “Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC) in Abuja yesterday.

Represented by the chief of defence training and operation, Maj.-Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, the CDS said the 613 repentant terrorists were undergoing deradicalisation and rehabilitation handled by the OPSC.

He said the meeting would exhaustively discuss the “Deradicalization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) Programme” ahead of the transfer of the rehabilitated clients to their state governments.

Irabor said the OPSC was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2015 as a window for willing and repentant terrorists to lay down their arms and undergo a structured DRR programme.

He added that the scheme was a multi-agency and humanitarian operation utilising the expertise of over 17 services, ministries, departments and agencies, supported by local and international organisations and friendly nations.

The CDS said the successes of OPSC had continued to resonate within the region and in the diaspora, thereby attracting the interest of researchers from far and wide.