Borno Reintegrates 720 Ex-Boko Haram Fighters, Cumulative Total Nears 10,000

Borno State Government has reintegrated another 720 former Boko Haram fighters, according to state officials and multiple Nigerian outlets, in a development that brings the cumulative number of rehabilitated ex-combatants close to the 10,000 mark.

The latest batch of 720 men, together with 992 spouses and 2,050 children, were received and processed at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri after deradicalisation, disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation, state officials said.

Brigadier General Abdullahi Ishaq (rtd.), Special Adviser to Governor Babagana Zulum on Security, said the Borno Model of non-kinetic engagement continues to draw former insurgents back into civilian life. The beneficiaries, he said, were drawn from local government areas including Bama, Gwoza, Damboa, Mafa, Dikwa, Marte, Monguno and Kukawa after screening by community leaders and security agencies.

According to Premium Times, Ishaq said 8,960 former insurgents had been reintegrated in the first eight batches, bringing the cumulative figure to 9,680 with Friday’s exercise. Daily Post, reporting the same event, rounded the cumulative to “more than 9,600 people” and said the programme began in July 2021.

Ishaq described the latest beneficiaries as the ninth batch under the state’s reintegration programme. Outlets have summarised the cumulative total as “nearly 10,000” — a description applied by ThisDay Live and Africanews (AP wire) to the same event.

It is important to note that the figures cited here come from the Borno State Government’s Borno Model programme. The federal Operation Safe Corridor, run by the Defence Headquarters, is a related but separate scheme that has its own tracking and processing centres; the 9,680 figure should not be conflated with OSC totals.

The reintegration comes against a background of continued counter-terrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin and renewed pressure on the Federal Government following the reported death of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar in bandits’ captivity in neighbouring Katsina State.

Officials said the Borno programme combines community-based reintegration with vocational training, deradicalisation support and family reunification, with the goal of preventing former fighters from returning to armed activity.

Sources: Premium Times, ThisDay Live, Daily Post Nigeria