By Sebastine Obasi
The federal government may have increased the insecurity odds in the country by implementing a de-radicalization and reintegration programme for ‘repentant’ Boko Haram fighters.
Some residents of Borno State, North East Nigeria, alleged that recent terror attacks on communities may be linked to the former Boko Haram combatants who may be acting as spies for the terrorists.
It may be recalled that the Nigerian government announced the de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme in 2015 for the Boko Haram terrorists, hoping this could stem the pace of the terrorists’ attacks. Hundreds of either captured terrorists or those who willingly surrendered were enrolled in the programme named Operation Safe Corridor.
In April 2019, the commander of the programme, Brigadier General Bamidele Matthew Shafa, said the first batch of the de-radicalized terrorists were handed over to the state.
“The reports we are getting on the first set of people we handed over to the state are positive. We have not received any report of maltreatment in the various communities that they are in. I think this is something we need to sustain,” he had said.
But residents of Borno, however, said that shortly after the amnesty for the repentant terrorists, the number of Boko Haram attacks started to spike rather than abate. Those interviewed by TheNiche said that in the last two months, the terrorists have launched several well-coordinated attacks against many communities. They suspect that the terrorists may be getting help from their ‘repentant’ colleagues. They recall that on January 6, 2020, a bomb exploded at a market in Gamboru, killing at least 30 people. They alleged that the high casualty recorded by the attack gives credence to the theory that ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members may be involved.
A journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Borno State who pleaded not to be named, also said the ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members may have aided the attack on a mosque in Gwoza on January 25 which killed a 12-year-old child and injured many people.
“I doubt if any programme can truly de-radicalize these people. These are people who the majority of them did not willingly surrender. They were captured and forced to go through the programme. And even those who said they surrendered, how are we sure they are not sent by Boko Haram to play that role? This is sad because the last attack on Gwoza, some of the residents said the so-called ‘repentant’ Boko Haram may have provided some assistance to the terrorists,” the journalist said. The terrorists had entered the Gwoza mosque while prayer was ongoing, and exploded their bombs on January 25.
A police officer who is based in Borno also queried the rationale for the amnesty for the terrorists whom he described as the ‘victimizers.’ The policeman who did not want his name mentioned because it is against the code of ethics of his job, said while thousands of the victims are neglected in the internally displaced persons’ camps, the terrorists who created the problem for them are leaving at the expense of Nigeria’s taxpayers. He said he would not be surprised if the ‘repentant’ terrorists are also complicit in many of the recent attacks, especially when analyzed based on the precision of such attacks. He said the Auno attack was particularly suspect because the weapons used for such attacks appeared to have been domiciled in the community long before the attack.
“It was like the Boko Haram people have their armoury in Auno, otherwise, how were they able to move that magnitude of weapons that were used,” he said. The Auno attack happened in the evening of February 9, to travellers who could not enter Maiduguri (23 kilometres away), the State capital because of the curfew. The attackers were said to be heavily armed while perpetuating the mass murder. About 30 people were said to have been killed in the attack.
