Army Denies Arming Repentant Terrorists

The coordinator of “Operation Safe Corridor”, Brig-Gen. Yusuf Ali, has debunked claims that “repentant and active Boko Haram terrorists were being armed to fight alongside the Nigerian military under the programme.

He invited purveyors of the claims to visit the facility to verify the facts on the ground.

Brig-Gen. Ali, in a statement yesterday, said the claim is “false, misleading, and entirely unfounded” in response to a video circulated by Danish blogger Jones Raw.

He said there were several state-led De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) initiatives in the country which operate independently and were not under the control or supervision of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) or Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

He said individuals who had processed through such state-level arrangements were not recognised as participants in the DHQ-led “Operation Safe Corridor” framework.

The coordinator said the facility depicted in the video was not an OPSC DRR Camp.

He stressed that the officially designated OPSC facility responsible for handling Boko Haram participants is located in Mallam Sidi, Gombe State and operates as a secured and controlled military environment.

“The location shown in the video is clearly inconsistent with the OPSC facility, based on observable differences in structural design, layout and operational setting. Additionally, the Danish blogger, Jones Raw, and the individuals featured in the video are not known to, nor have they ever been associated with, or granted access to the OPSC facility, rendering the claims not only inaccurate but deliberately misleading,” he said.

Ali reiterated that “Operation Safe Corridor” remains a strictly non-kinetic, multi-agency programme, designed to facilitate the de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of carefully screened and profiled individuals.

“At no point are participants armed, mobilised, or deployed for combat operations,” he insisted.