The recipients, who had previously turned themselves in to the military during various operations throughout the state, were processed through rehabilitation camps at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri. According to the government, they received counselling, skills acquisition training, and ideological reorientation.
After completing what officials referred to as deradicalisation, disarmament, and rehabilitation programs under the state’s contentious peacebuilding initiative known as the “Borno Model,” the Borno State government has reintegrated 720 repentant insurgents, along with 992 spouses and 2,050 children, back into society.
The recipients, who had previously turned themselves in to the military during various operations throughout the state, were processed through rehabilitation camps at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri. According to the government, they received counselling, skills acquisition training, and ideological reorientation.
During a ceremony on Friday, they were formally reintegrated. According to officials, the group is classified as Batch 9 low-risk and minor clients under the state’s ongoing non-kinetic counter-insurgency strategy.
Speaking at the event, Brigadier General Abdullahi Ishaq (Rtd), a member of the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration Committee and Special Advisor to Governor Babagana Zulum on Security, stated that the program is a crucial component of the state’s plan to combat insurgency outside of military conflict.
According to him, the reintegration process represents a significant advancement in the government’s “Borno Model,” a framework based on rehabilitation, forgiveness, and surrender incentives.
“Since July 5, 2021, when the good people of Borno State, led by our dynamic leader, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, agreed to forgive and accept their sons who are willing to drop arms and embrace, it has been a success story.”
He claims that around 350,000 people have purportedly left insurgent camps and turned themselves in over time, albeit the numbers have not been officially confirmed.
He said that the most recent group of reintegrated individuals had completed rigorous rehabilitation programs at the Hajj Camp, which included behavioural reorientation, education, and vocational training.