Rehabilitation of 'repentant terrorists' dey help Nigeria for di fight against insurgency?

About 76 former members of di Islamic State of West Africa Province Iswap) don drop dia weapons and surrender to Nigeria govment forces for di North East region, according to statement by di Nigerian army.

Na Muhammad Goni, wey be captain for di Nigeria army and di tok-tok pesin for Operation Hadin Kai release di statement.

Dis dey come just about two weeks wey di army announce say two ogbonge Iswap commanders bin also surrender.

For di statement on Sunday, 28 June 2026, Goni tok say dis former terrorists wey surrender include some top Iswap oga dem, togeda wit dia family members.

"Dem currently for secure location wia dem dey undergo profiling, debriefing and oda established procedures in accordance wit extant operational protocols," di statement tok.

Goni explain say dis development na sake of "persistent military operations" wey don "degrade diterrorists combat capabilities and erode confidence within dia ranks and leadership".

"Di pressure on di remaining terrorist elements go continue until dem dey completely neutralised or forced to surrender" e add.

Usually, fighters like dis wey surrender, go undergo some kain "deradicalisation" or "rehabilitation" programme by di govment, and afta some time, usually betwin six months and two years, dem go release dem to go bak into di community.

Operation Safe Corridor na di name of dis programme and since 2016 wen di programme officially start work, thousands of former fighters don benefit from am.

Di Borno State govment also get dia own similar program wey dem call di "Borno Model".

During di rehabilitation programme, di repentant terrorists go learn skills like brick laying or leather works, vulcanising, hair cutting skills etc, so dem go fit engage diasef wit sometin wen dem come out.

As dem wan pass out from di private, di govment go make dem swear wit di Quran say dem no go eva go bak to fighting, and dis, according to govment na guarantee say di former fighters no go return to dia criminal past.

Zuwaira Gambo, di commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development for Borno State explain why dis method dey work.

"Once you swear by the Quran, you know di implication," Ms Gambo tok for one TV interview in May, afta anoda batch of 744 former terrorists graduate from di deradicalisation programme on 19 April.

"Any of dem wey try to go bak, di active terrorists go see am as "infidel" and e go mean dead on arrival for am," she tok.

How effective dis programmes dey?

Malik Samuel na tori pesin wey don cova di insurgency situation for di northeast region of Nigeria for more dan 10 years, and according to am, bifor pesin go understand weda di deradicalisation programme achieve result, e go good to know di idea behind am.

Oga Samuel explain say no be evri Boko Haram join di group sake of religious ideology, e get di ones wey join sake of say dem force dem or bicos dem dey poor and di fighters promise dem moni.

Dis set of pipo, as dem don join, dem go see say wetin dem promise dem no be as e be in reality, but dem no go fit comot bicos na death sentence be dat.

Bifor di 2015 general elections, di army launch ogbonge anti-insurgency operations to clear di terrorists so dat elections go fit hold for some areas, and na during dis operation di govment tink am say e go good to create opportunity for some of di fighters wey wan leave di terrorists, to surrender.

"So di army create a 'safe corridor' for di fighters wey wan surrender. Once you dey come out tru dat axis, di army go know say you wan surrender and dem no go open fire. Dat na how di programme get di name 'Operation Safe Corridor," Malik Samuel explain to BBC News Pidgin.

"Di idea na to reduce di rank of active fighters for di terrorists in order to finish dem. And di pipo wey surrender go pass tru some process to determine how far dem don go for terrorist mata, bifor dem go put dem for Giwa Barracks (Borno State) wey be di camp for di rehabilitation."

According to Samuel, di programme bin dey effective bicos true-true, many former fighters take di opportunity to drop dia arms, turn away from crime and get skill wey go help dia life.

"I document di tori of some of dis pipo mysef, and how dem don take dia life do beta tin afta dem come out," Samuel tok.

"However, as many of dia fighters dey surrender and dey embrace di rehabilitation programme, di terrorist groups dey recruit more and more fighters easily sake of di economic situation for di kontri."

"So, military operation alone, in my opinion, no go fit solve di problem of insurgency, if govment neva pay attention to di underlying factors wey dey provide terrorists a rich pool of pipo wey dey easy to recruit."

Oga Malik Samuel agree say e get some of di so-called repentant fighters wey dey still later return to di bush to join di insurgents bak, but dis don raise questions about di quality of di deradicalisation programme.

According to am, research and report show say di Operation Safe Corridor wey di Nigeria Army dey handle, dey more strict and get less pipo wey dey return to crime, while di 'Borno Model' programme don see more pipo return to insurgency.

"Govment need to dey review di programme from time to time. Wich kain training dem dey give dis fighters wey surrender? Afta dia training, wich kain help dem dey get to start life again? Wetin be di folo up and monitoring process to make sure say dem no return to crime?"

Oga Samuel say im also understand wen some Nigerians dey criticise di programme and dey tok say e no get anytin as repentant terrorist, howeva, e add say dis kain programme no be only for Nigeria dem dey do am, na global practice.

"Besides, Nigeria na signatory to many human rights agreements for di world, once any fighter surrender, you no go just shoot am die, e dey against di law," Samuel tok.

About di tok by govment authorities say di ex-fighters, afta dia rehabilitation programme, go swear wit di Quran, and dat go guarantee say dem no go return to crime, oga Malik Samuel say dat one na just tok bicos evidence for ground no support am.

"Shebi politicians also dey use Quran and Bible swear bifor dem enta office? She e dey prevent dem from being corrupt and abusing dia office?" e ask.

Recently, di Minister of Defence Christopher Musa also explain di need for di rehabilitation programme for former terrorists wey don repent and surrender.

E tok say mass execution or blanket punishment no dey compatible wit global legal standards as well as di operational realities for asymmetric warfare.

Oga Musa say: "Operation Safe Corridor na internationally established avenue for receiving terrorists wey surrender voluntarily. But we dey always dey clear about who dey go wia."

Di ones wey join sake of threat of death or dem join by force, go enta di rehabilitation and reintegration programmes unda Operation Safe Corridor, but di confam fighters go dey isolated and handed ova to di Office of di Attorney-General of di Federation for prosecution, di defence minister tok.