Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has called on stakeholders in the security sector to chart a road map on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of the repentant Boko haram terrorists.
He made the call at two-day RoundTable Discussion on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Re-integration (DDR), Peace building and Reconciliation in the North east, organised by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre and NEEM Foundation, in Abuja.
The minister said peace was not negotiable, adding that responsible people must work towards peace. He said though there is no society devoid of one form of conflict or the other, all stakeholders must work together to guarantee safety and security of the people.
He commended the effort of the military and other stakeholders towards DDR and pace building and reconciliation in the North-East. He noted that there was the need for greater concerted efforts towards ensuring total disarmament and reintegration repentant terrorist as well as encouraging those still fighting to surrender.
“Now that the ongoing kinetic effort of the enemy capability has been degraded and dismantled to a large extent, all effort must now be heated towards developing the consensus which allow those of them who are still in doubt to surrender,” the minister said.
“All stakeholder inclusive must work on this non kinetic doctrine to achieve a stable environment so that post conflict development can be fully deployed in a sustainable manner.
“I commend the effort of the Nigerian military in prosecuting the north east campaign. Your sacrifices must be constantly be appreciated and of course the peace we even have now in other parts of the country,” he said.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Tukur Buratai, said that the situation in the north east had not reached the level of disarmament but demobilisation and reintegration.
Buratai said that in conflict situation where there were use of arms, dislocations, casualties both within the civil and the military, destruction of properties and dislocation of individuals, it was important to first of all disarm.
According to him, there must be a sort of agreement, negotiation, mediation and surrender, but if you look at these issues, we are not yet there.
“In a normal situation we are not yet there because I have been involved in peace keeping observer mission with the UN in the 90s and my experience,” he said.
“One part must agree to disarm but in this case, the other party, ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists are still carrying arms.
“But very importantly why we must do that, there are some individuals within the factions of the terrorists that are willing to surrender and some of them are surrendering willingly and we have taken custody of hundreds of them.
“In this case I see the right time and the right mechanism to be put in place to ensure that this process is commenced,” he said.
Buratai disclosed that disarmament in this context would require heightened military activities to be able to forcefully disarm the terrorists and that is what the army is doing.
“We are already at the process of demobilisation with the Operation Safe Corridor ongoing in Gombe state as well as the initiative by the Borno state government to reintegrate them with their family members,” he said.
“The issue of reintegration is quite fundamental because there is the issue of whether the society will accept them back because many of them have even killed their own parents. This is where all sectors must come in,” he said.
The Chairman, Board of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Maj.-Gen. Paul Tarfa (rtd), said the counter insurgency operation in the North east has reached a point where peace building mist begin.
Tarfa said all hands must be on deck to prevent a resurgence of what the nation had been experiencing by providing an enduring solution.
Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai said the DDR is significant to restore peace in affected area, but advised that it should be civilian led.
