Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor on Thursday said that 613 rehabilitated low-risk repentant terrorists will be handed over to their state governments for reintegration into society after they are de-radicalized.
Speaking during the fifth Stakeholders’ Meeting of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), in Abuja, the CDS represented by the Chief of Defence Training and Operation, Maj.-Gen. Adeyemi Yekini said the 613 clients are still being de-radicalized and rehabilitated by the OPSC under the Deradicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DRR) program.
He explained that the DRR scheme is humanitarian and involves multiple agencies that draw from the expertise of over 17 services, ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as the support of local and international organizations and friendly nations.
“It is also important to mention that upon graduation from the program, each client will be provided some food and personal items, as well as a start-up pack according to the trade learned during training to enable them to set up small businesses and start a new life.”
Irabor urged the receiving state governments to provide the support necessary for the ex-combatants to successfully pass through the transition phase which is usually very challenging.
Image: Newsexpress.
“We are optimistic that working closely with local and traditional authorities, the states can deploy security apparatus at their disposal to effectively track and evaluate the re-integrated ex-combatants.
“I must emphasize that it is critical for all stakeholders involved in the reintegration processes to mitigate, or eliminate incidences of recidivism,” he said.
Irabor said that Boko Haram and Islamic State terrorists have been restricted to a small portion of Sambisa Forest and isolated islands on Lake Chad
following consistent and effective air and well-coordinated clearance operations by troops of the Armed Forces.
“These sustained operations continue to put pressure and confusion within the ranks of the adversary causing many to surrender to the armed forces.
“As of today, over 83,000 insurgents and their family members have surrendered, while those captured have been tried and convicted to various jail terms by the law courts.
“As we speak, many more captured combatants are being held in several correctional facilities and their trial is ongoing,” Irabor said.
“I must emphasize that counterinsurgency operation is dynamic and requires a lot of ingenuity and proactive strategies to achieve success.
“One of such strategies adopted by the Federal Government is by extending an olive branch to low-profile members of the insurgent groups who form the critical mass,” he said.
OPSC program.
Image:Vanguard.
The Coordinator of OPSC, Maj.-Gen. Joseph Maina said since 2016 when the program started, 1,573 clients have been processed, out of which 1,555 were Nigerians while 18 were foreign nationals from Cameroon, Chad, and Niger who were handed over to their respective countries for reintegration.
He said that five foreigners from Chad and Niger were among the 613 clients transferred to the DRR camp on Sept. 8, 2022, to start training. They are expected to graduate in February.
19 of the clients requiring expert psychiatric management were transferred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, he noted.
The Secretary to the Government of Adamawa, Mallam Bashiru Ahmad, said the state had been working with the OPSC to bring together clients’ parents and prepare the communities to receive the repentant terrorists after their deradicalization.
The Borno state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo stated that the state runs a similar scheme that enables the repentant terrorists to live with their families in camps located in the state.
Gambo disclosed that the state had received the largest number of repentant terrorists since the program started and called for more support from the federal government and relevant stakeholders for the state government.
She assured that Borno state would continue to interact with the clients even after graduation from OPSC in Gombe to ensure that they were ready for reintegration into their communities.
The OPSC was set up in September 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari as a window for terrorists who are willing to repent and lay down their arms to undergo a structured program of de-radicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration into their communities.
Politics and Opinion.
Commentaires