The Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor said that 613 rehabilitated low-risk repentant terrorists will be transferred to their country’s government for reintegration into society.
Irabor made the disclosure during the fifth Stakeholder Meeting of the Operation Secure Corridor (OPSC), Thursday in Abuja.
Represented by the Chief of Defense Training and Operations, Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, CDS said 613 clients are currently undergoing deradicalization and rehabilitation being handled by OPSC.
He said the meeting would discuss the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) Program before the transfer of rehabilitated clients to the state government.
Irabor said OPSC was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2015 as a window for willing and repentant terrorists to lay down their hands and undergo a structured DRR programme.
He added that the scheme is a multi-agency and humanitarian operation using the expertise of more than 17 services, ministries, departments and agencies, supported by local and international organizations and friendly countries.
CDS said OPSC’s success continues to resonate in the region and in the diaspora, thus attracting the interest of researchers from far and wide.
“It is also important to mention that after graduating from the program, each client will be given food and personal items, as well as a start-up package according to the trade learned during the training so that they can create a small business and start a new business. life.”
Irabor suggested that the government of the receiving country should provide the necessary support to enable the ex-combatants to pass the transitional and most challenging phase of their lives.
“We are optimistic that working closely with local and traditional authorities, countries can deploy security apparatus that can be used to track and evaluate reintegrated ex-combatants.
“I must emphasize that it is important for all stakeholders involved in the reintegration process to reduce, or eliminate the incidence of recidivism,” he said.
Irabor said the Armed Forces have significantly destroyed Boko Haram and Islamic State terrorists and are limited to a small part of the Sambisa Forest and isolated islands in Lake Chad.
According to him, through consistent and effective air interdiction along with well-coordinated clearing operations in positively identified insurgent strongholds, forces continue to inflict heavy casualties on their groups and leaders.
“These ongoing operations continue to cause pressure and confusion in the ranks of the enemy resulting in many surrendering to the armed forces.
“As of today, more than 83,000 insurgents and their family members have surrendered, while those arrested have been tried and sentenced to various prison terms by courts of law.
“As we speak, many other arrested fighters are being held in several correctional facilities and their trials are ongoing,” Irabor said.
CDS said the military has used kinetic and non-kinetic methods to win the war against insurgency.
“I must emphasize that counterinsurgency operations are dynamic and require a lot of ingenuity and proactive strategies to achieve success.
“One of the strategies adopted by the Federal Government is to extend the olive branch to low profile members of the insurgent groups who form a critical mass,” he said.
OPSC Coordinator, Maj. Joseph Maina, said the program has successfully processed 1,573 clients comprising 1,555 Nigerians and 18 foreign nationals from Cameroon, Chad and Niger since its inception in 2016.
Maina said all the foreign clients were transferred to their countries for reintegration.
He said the 613 clients were transferred to the DRR camp on September 8, 2022 to begin training, and among them were five foreigners from Chad and Niger.
The OPSC coordinator announced that 19 clients have been transferred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital neurological center for expert psychiatric management.
At the meeting, Maina said there is a way for smooth transfer of clients to national and state authorities for reintegration after graduation in February.
“Specifically, at the end of this meeting, all stakeholders will be fully aware of the activities of OPSC and the special DRR Programme.
“State authorities and MDA will know in certain terms, the role they will play in the transfer as well as the process of client reintegration.
“Identify and recommend in specific terms affordable settlement packages for clients and assign responsibility to appropriate MDAs to provide them.
“Determine the mode of community sensitization, camp visits and community service programs to obtain and ratify the date of graduation and start arrangements for the ceremony,” he said.
The Secretary to the Adamawa Government, Mallam Bashiru Ahmad, said the state has partnered with OPSC to reunite the parents of clients and prepare the community to receive them after deradicalisation.
He said he was at the meeting of stakeholders to see what could be done to ensure the effectiveness of the program and was optimistic that the efforts would produce the desired results.
On her part, Borno’s Commissioner for Women and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, said the state has received its largest share of repentant terrorists since the program began.
Gambo assured that the state will continue to evaluate clients even after they graduate from OPSC in Gombe to ensure that they are ready to reintegrate into the community.
He said the only difference between the Borno model of deradicalization and the OPSC was the involvement of the military, adding that the Borno model was more civilian.
According to him, the repentant terrorist lives with his family in the Borno camp while the camp in Gombe allows only family visits.
He called for more support from the federal government and relevant stakeholders to enable the state government to achieve its desired goals.