602 repentant B/Haram members renounce membership

Some 602 repentant Boko Haram members Monday renounced their membership of the group and swore oath of allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The ex-insurgents, who have completed a de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programme, denounced their membership of the insurgent group at the Malam Sidi Camp in Kwami local government area of Gombe state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they denounced their membership of Boko Haram before an 11-member quasi-judicial panel headed by Justice Nehizena Afolabi of the Federal High Court Gombe.

Speaking during the exercise, Bamidele Shafa, a major general and Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, said the appearance of the repentant insurgents before the judicial panel was a major requirement, before their reintegration into the society.

“The panel is for the clients to appear before it to confess their pasts and denounce their membership of Boko Haram, Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) as the case maybe.

“And swear Oath of Allegiance to be loyal, disciplined and obedient citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and then make a commitment.

“The commitment is that at the end of the programme, where they commit any offence, they stand to forfeit all privileges that they have acquired today and will be liable for offence against the State.”

Mr Shafa revealed that since the operationalisation of the DRR programme in 2016, it had admitted 893 clients into camp while 280 including two Chadians had been transferred to their various national and state authorities.

The Borno state Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, said there was already a structure on ground in Borno to continue from where the DRR programme stopped.

“We will provide them with psycho-social supports, continue with religious admonition in order to make them good citizens of the country.

“We will also give them starter packs to help them practice the skills that had been acquired in the camp here,” she said.

The commissioner said that those earlier released to the Borno Government from the camp had been assimilated into the society and were doing well.

She disclosed that one of them makes N250, 000 from barbing on a monthly basis and had employed several youths.(NAN)

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