Authorities in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State have announced that nearly 10,000 former Boko Haram fighters have now been reintegrated into society through a government-backed rehabilitation and deradicalisation programme designed to encourage defections from insurgent groups.
The announcement was made during a graduation ceremony held in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, where 720 former militants completed the rehabilitation process and were formally discharged.
According to state officials, the latest batch increases the total number of former insurgents reintegrated into their communities to 9,680.
The programme forms part of wider efforts by Nigerian authorities to weaken insurgent groups operating across the Lake Chad region by encouraging fighters to surrender, abandon violence, and transition back into civilian life.
Images from the ceremony showed hundreds of participants assembled at the rehabilitation centre, where they took an oath before completing the programme.
Boko Haram’s insurgency, which began more than a decade ago in northeastern Nigeria, has caused widespread devastation across the region, claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions of people in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
Although military operations have significantly reduced the operational strength of the group over the years, armed factions continue to carry out attacks in parts of the northeast and surrounding areas.
Borno State authorities maintain that rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives remain an important part of broader efforts to reduce violence, encourage defections, and promote long-term peace and stability in communities affected by the insurgency.
The development highlights Nigeria’s continued use of both military and non-military strategies in addressing one of the country’s longest-running security challenges.
Source: AfricaNews
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