The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has said
no ex-Boko Haram fighter has been recruited into the Nigerian Military.
He also disclosed that contrary to speculations, there was
no plan to absorb them into the military or other security agencies in the
country.
According to him, the over 1,000 former Boko Haram fighters
can never be recruited due to stringent safeguards in place in the various
security agencies.
Irabor spoke at the opening ceremony of the Operation Safe
Corridor stakeholders’ meeting held at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
The event was meant to work out modalities for transferring
rehabilitated clients to their state governments.
Irabor who was represented by the Chief of Defence
Logistics, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, said so far 1000 clients including 16
foreign nationals have graduated from the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and
Reintegration programme of OPSC and have been reintegrated.
He added that a total of 559 new clients were currently
going through the DRR programme in Gombe State.
Irabor said, “Let me at this juncture state that OPSC is not
a purely military operation, as some have suggested. The OPSC is a peace-building
effort and its essential duties are carried out by relevant MDAS with the
necessary expertise.
“The military and
other security and law enforcement agencies are involved to the extent of
creating an enabling environment and leadership for the DRR Programme to
function efficiently.
“There have also been concerns that OPSC graduates are being
recruited by the military and paramilitary agencies.
“I wish to clearly dispute this assertion and reassure
Nigerians that none of the over 1,000 rehabilitated Nigerians from OPSC DRR has
been recruited and will never be recruited into the Nigerian Military or sister
security services due to stringent safeguards in place to prevent such
recruitment.
“I am particularly enthralled to note that OPSC has
continued to improve its programs principles, practices and procedures over the
years. Today, this initiative has become a model that has been replicated in
all the Lake Chad Basin Countries. It has also elicited the interest of both
local and international bodies including academia.
“The DRR Program consists of psychological humanitarian
treatments that reassure and provide alternatives to low-profile combatants
through psycho-social/psycho-spiritual therapies, recreations, vocational
training, and introductory western education, thereby countering BHT/ISWAP ideologies
and reducing their recruitment drive while depleting the critical mass of their
fighting force,” he added.
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