500 Repentant Boko Haram Fighters Passes Out From FG’s Rehabilitation Programme

The federal government’s de-radicalization, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DRR) program has successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated 559 former Boko Haram militants back into society.

It’s not the first time something like this has occurred. Over 1,000 former Boko Haram fighters have completed the program.

The program is part of Operation Safe Corridor, that has been in operation since 2015 and enables repentant and remorseful terrorists to be pardoned, trained, rehabilitated, and reintegrated into society.

On Sunday, Gombe State hosted a graduation ceremony for the most recent class of repentant militants.

Members of the graduating class landed at the DRR camp during July 15 and September 6, 2021, according to Joseph Maina, the coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor.

Medical screening, psychiatric and psychospiritual counseling, sports treatment, substance misuse counseling, western education, and vocational training were among the things they participated in during their stay at the camp.

“Since September 2015, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari established the Operation Safe Corridor to encourage willing and repentant Boko Haram members to surrender and go through a well-structured rehabilitation and deradicalisation and reintegration programmes,” Maina said.

“This programme began effectively in 2016 by the committee constituted by the chief of defence staff to operationalise the mandate of the commander in chief.

“Consequently, personnel were drawn from the 17 services, ministries, departments and agencies to execute the concept of operation. Since the DRR camp became fully operational, a total of 1070 ex-combatants have successfully gone through the programme and have been reintegrated into society.

“This morning, another set of 559 class will be graduating from the programme and they too will be reintegrated back into their community subsequently.”

General Lucky Irabor, who was represented at the occasion by Major-General Adeyemi Yekini, the Chief of Defence Staff, exhorted the graduating former Boko Haram militants to continue to be law-abiding and good individuals.

He reinformed the participants that they are still bound by the oath they took to the federal government.

“As you turn to your communities for your integration stage, I urge you all to brace up for the challenges ahead,” Yekini said.

“Some of you will encounter resentment and rejections in your communities but I can assure you, if you remember and practise everything you have learnt during the DRR programme, you will surmount these challenges.

“I urge you to go out there and be worthy ambassadors of Operation Safe Corridor by being law-abiding and responsible citizens.

“Finally, I want to remind you of the consequences of violating the oath of allegiance you have sworn. You must uphold the pledge to be loyal to the federal government at all times and shun all forms of violence and criminality.”