Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, says the
deradicalisation of repentant Boko Haram members is not working.
The military in 2016 launched Operation Safe Corridor, an
initiative for the deradicalisation and rehabilitation of ex-Boko Haram
members.
The aim of the operation, the military said, is to
reintegrate repentant Boko Haram members
into society. More than 500 ex-Boko Haram members have already completed
the programme.
But while speaking at the North-East Governors’ Forum meeting in Bauchi on Thursday, Zulum said the initiative needs to be reviewed because some of the ex-Boko Haram members only come to spy on communities and then return to join the group.
“Another aspect of the war against the insurgency that needs
to be urgently reviewed or modified, is the issue of deradicalisation of Boko
Haram terrorists, who have been captured or have willingly surrendered
themselves to the authorities,” he said.
“It has been confirmed that the concept of deradicalisation
or Safe Corridor is not working as expected. Quite often, those who have passed
through the Safe Corridor initiative, or have been deradicalised, usually go
back and rejoin the terror group after carefully studying the various security
arrangements in their host communities, during the reintegration process.
“In addition, the host communities where the reintegration
process is going on usually resent the presence of Boko Haram terrorists, even
if they have been deradicalised, because of the despicable and atrocious
activities they have committed in the past.
“So the idea of deradicalisation, as currently being
implemented, needs to be reviewed because the main goals and the underlying
objectives behind the initiative are not being achieved.”
The governor advised that the best option is to immediately
prosecute the insurgents in accordance with the terrorism Act.
He said those people who were forcefully recruited but have
been rescued or have escaped from the group, should be the ones to undergo the
deradicalisation.
The governor lamented the delay on the prosecution of insurgents. He said prosecutorial powers should be devolved to the state attorneys-general to make the process faster.
“On the prosecution of terrorists, we must make efforts to
avoid the current encumbrances and intricacies associated with the process,
which usually takes considerable time, by urging the appropriate federal
authorities to devolve the powers of the minister of justice and
attorney-general of the federation to state attorneys-general in order to
facilitate the prosecution process,” he said.
In July 2020, some residents of Borno kicked against the
reintegration of repentant Boko Haram members into their communities, asking
the federal government to take them to Aso Rock.
Soldiers at the war front in the north-east had also
expressed disappointment over the release of repentant Boko Haram suspects.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com