800 Boko Haram terrorists have repented – DHQ

The Defence Headquarters has disclosed that 800 former Boko Haram terrorists have repented and are undergoing deradicalisation.

The Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Emeka Onumajuru, disclosed this while speaking on Channels TV Morning Brief on Monday.

He stated that the deradicalisation of the former fighters who surrendered to the military, is part of efforts to reintegrate them into society.

According to him, while 129,000 Boko Haram fighters and their families had so far surrendered, only a select group had been chosen for rehabilitation.

The Chief further explained that all surrendered individuals are subjected to legal scrutiny, with those found guilty facing prosecution, while others deemed fit for rehabilitation are placed in the deradicalisation programme.

“To get the numbers right, right now, (we have) about 129,000 surrendered Boko Haram members and their families.

“Some of them are in detention facilities, some of them are in Kainji, and there is a special court that goes through all of them. Those that were found culpable face the books, and those that are going to be deradicalised go through the process, which takes about a year,” he stated.

The military chief defended the feasibility of rehabilitating former insurgents within a year, noting that the programme is handled by professionals under Operation Safe Corridor, a non-kinetic approach to combating terrorism.

“It’s possible because the deradicalisation is done by professionals. That one-year period is sufficient enough, depending on the people handling the deradicalisation,” Onumajuru added.