…says former fighters being reunited with their families, communities under the watch

Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

None of the repentant former Boko Haram members currently being trained under the federal government de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programme will be recruited into the Nigerian Army, the commandant of Operation Safe Corridor, Brig. Gen. Musa Ibrahim, has said.

Brig-Gen Ibrahim, who conducted Vanguard round the facilities where the ex-combatants are undergoing the DRR at the Mallam Sidi Camp in Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State, that the former fighters who are currently being rehabilitated by the OPSC were not qualified to be recruited into the military having fought against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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“We are not training and rehabilitating them to join the army as some people are insinuating because they were once disloyal to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Brig. Gen Ibrahim explained.

According to him, the 606 clients being trained at the camp will be handed over to their respective states working in concert with 17 other agencies of government and institutions for reintegration so as to make them useful to themselves and their communities.

Brig. Gen. Ibrahim pointed out that the camp had successfully transformed the former fighters from fragile, sick and frustrated men to strong, focused and forward-looking human beings ready to perform tasks assigned to them.

The commandant disclosed that no fewer than 280 other BH former members had earlier undergone the DRR programme and were reunited with their families at the end of the training, pointing out that the current batch of 606, which are currently being trained in agriculture, barbing, carpentry, soap and shoe-making, laundry, welding and cosmetology, would be graduating in June this year.

Asked to explain how the former fighter would be prevented from going back to the sect after being trained by the OPSC, the commandant said that they were what he called ‘check back and monitoring mechanism’ in place to forestall their return to the terrorists.

Ibrahim said that the 606 men were classified under what he described as ‘Low-Risk ex-BH fighters’, adding that no high-risk ex-combatant could be kept with the batch in Gombe State.

Vanguard gathered that all former BH fighters considered as ‘high risk’ are promptly taken to another facility in Kainji for trial while those who are classified as ‘low risk’ are kept in the Gombe camp manned by the Nigerian Army for DRR programme after which they are handed over their states for reintegration.

During the visit, our correspondent observed that the 606 clients were eager to complete the training in various aspect of vocation with a view to graduating in June and being reunited with their families, some of whom they had not seen in as many as six years.

“My life has been significantly transformed by the training I get from the OPSC and I am itching to be reunited with my family members I have not seen since I was captured and taken away by BH fighters four years ago,” said Abdullahi Usman, one of the former fighters.

Vanguard