Another batch of 606 ‘repentant’ Boko Haram fighters is set to be reunited with their families after undergoing rehabilitation under the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Amnesty Programme named Operation Safe Corridor.
The co-ordinator of the programme, Bamidele Shafa, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting to work out modalities for transferring the former terrorists to their national and state government authorities for reintegration at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
Major General Shafa said that 25 Nigerians, including 14 male adults, three female adults and eight children, who voluntarily laid down their arms in Niger Republic, had been repatriated in February, awaiting reintegration.
According to him the Operation Safe Corridor was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 to create avenue for repentant Boko Haram fighters to surrender and go through well-structured de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme.
He said that since inception of the programme, 893 repentant Boko Haram fighters, referred to as ‘clients’ admitted for the programme out of which 280 including two Chadians have been transferred to their respective national and state authorities.
The Chairman Operation Safe Corridor and Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, disclosed that over 1000 high profile Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province have been captured and investigated, out of which 500 have been convicted by Courts of competent jurisdiction.
According to him, the President directed the establishment of Operation Safe Corridor to give the terrorists the opportunity to lay down their arms, adding that its activities are guided by extant provisions of international humanitarian and human rights laws as well as the constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He dismissed insinuations that the rehabilitated ex-terrorists were absorbed into the military.
“I wish to categorically refute the claim and assure Nigerians that, none of the rehabilitated Nigerians from OPERATION SAFE CORRIDOR De-radicalization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration has been recruited into the Nigerian Military or any sister security agencies as stringent measures have been put in place to prevent such from happening,” he stressed.
