Kehinde Fajobi
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) revealed on Monday that 800 former Boko Haram fighters who surrendered to the military are currently undergoing deradicalisation as part of efforts to reintegrate them into society.
Maj.-Gen. Emeka Onumajuru, Chief of Defence Operations, disclosed this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme.
He explained that the ex-fighters, selected from a pool of 129,000 surrendering Boko Haram members and their families, will undergo a year-long deradicalisation process under the Operation Safe Corridor initiative.
Maj.-Gen. Onumajuru stated, “The number taken in is not huge. Right now, we have 129,000 Boko Haram members and families, but only 800 are going through the programme in batches.”
He further emphasised the effectiveness of the programme, citing the expertise of professionals handling the deradicalisation process.
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“The one-year period is sufficient enough depending on the people handling the deradicalisation,” he said.
Maj.-Gen. Onumajuru also stressed the need for both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to succeed in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.
“You cannot win an asymmetrical war with just a kinetic approach,” he added.