Borno Gov't Now Deploying Repentant Boko Haram To Work With Soldiers

Troops in the North East have revealed that the Borno State Government is attaching former Boko Haram fighters to local security groups that work directly with the military during operations. This is according to soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity, and they are not happy about it at all.

One soldier said, and I quote: "The government wants to prove that the reintegration programme is working, so some of these 'repentant' Boko Haram members are being attached to security groups that work with troops in operations. But many of us are uncomfortable with the arrangement because there have been cases in the past where information leaked and operations were compromised. Trust is a major issue." Another source added that these ex-insurgents are given separate accommodation within military facilities because even the army does not fully trust them. Yet the government is now pressuring them to work side by side during missions.

Retired Brigadier General Abdullahi Ishaq, Special Adviser on Security to Governor Babagana Zulum, defends the programme as a non-kinetic approach. He says over 350,000 individuals have surrendered and 9,680 have been reintegrated through nine batches since July 2021. But the soldiers are asking a simple question: if our commanders are being killed because of information leaks, why are we being forced to trust people who just last week were fighting against us? The Federal Government should be prioritising better equipment and intelligence support, not compelling troops to work with former insurgents. How many more commanders must die before someone in Abuja takes this seriously?