Some soldiers at the war front in the north-east have expressed disappointment over the release of 1,400 ‘repentant’ Boko Haram suspects. The Borno St
Some soldiers at the war front in the north-east have expressed disappointment over the release of 1,400 ‘repentant’ Boko Haram suspects. The Borno State Government has said about 1,400 repentant Boko Haram suspects have been released by the military and rehabilitated into society in three tranches since the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ programme began.
The programme began in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2018 under former governor Shettima that the release of the suspects began. Two sets have been released under Prof. Zulum. Babakura Jato, commissioner of information in Borno state said most of the persons released were not actually Boko Haram members but were relatives of terrorists or persons found in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The government’s spokesman said he was aware of allegations that some of those released had gone back to terrorism but argued that most of these allegations were mere speculations. Jato said after the training, they were handed over to the Borno State Government for proper integration into their communities. He stated that if any person was rejected by his community for being a former Boko Haram member, the government would resettle that person.
When asked if there were recorded cases of someone going back to join Boko Haram, he said, “I have not heard of that but we have had cases whereby people in the community rejected them. So, they return to the rehab centres and we change their location.”
Reacting to the development, some soldiers said they did not understand why suspected Boko Haram members are being released in large numbers.
“A lot of soldiers are not happy about this. We were there at the Maimalari barracks when some of these Boko Haram people were released. The authorities are releasing them, but Boko Haram are killing soldiers that they capture. This does not make sense to us at all. We continue to sweep across the bushes to flush these people out, and then the government will release them. Does that not amount to wasted efforts,?” a soldier asked
Another soldier said he believes most of the released suspects find their way back to crime.
“You wonder why Boko Haram members are on the increase? When we arrest them and bring them here, some top people would come and start negotiating their release. But, I will tell you some of these so-called suspects are returning to the bush and they were never repentant.”
