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The Defence Headquarters(DHQ) has said that the stories of the de-radicalized Boko Haram ex-fighters being recruited into the Nigerian military is untrue.
This was contained in press statement issued Sunday by the
Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in Abuja.
Nwachukwu urged the public to discountenance the rumours being
peddled on the social media.
According to the statement
which was made available to crimefacts.news, the Defence Headquarters stated that the claims
were not just bereft of truth but also ‘laced with mediocrity emanating from poorly researched and
uninformed position‘.
The document read in part: “Contrary to these claims, no Boko
Haram ex-fighter has been recruited into the Nigerian military and no such plan
is in the offing.
“The de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration programme is a Federal
Government programme conducted under the auspices of Operation Safe Corridor as
a non-kinetic operation.
“Nigeria’s de-radicalization model is a
very effective one, targeted at low risk combatants and has become a classical
example in the Lake Chad Basin Region and West Africa,” he said.
The statement added that over 250 repentant insurgents, who willingly abandoned their
cause and surrendered to federal troops,
had been de-radicalized, rehabilitated and
re-integrated into the society.
The defence spokesman averred that Nigeria’s
de-radicalization model was in accordance
with global best practices, as being done in Algeria, Colombia, Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia, where persons involved in violent extremism have been de-radicalized and rehabilitated.
The statement further read: “So far in
Nigeria, the de-radicalized ex-fighters are doing well in their respective
communities, as no adverse report has been recorded against the de-radicalized
repentant ex-fighters by Operation Safe Corridor’s monitoring unit.
“There has not been report of
molestation or harassment of any sort against them by members of the
communities, where they are resettled.
“As a matter of verifiable fact, the
reintegrated ex- fighters are doing well in their various endeavours and are
positively impacting on their respective communities.
“It is also expedient to state, that the
Federal Government of Nigeria has continued to prosecute BHT/ISWAP suspects in
courts of competent jurisdiction and over 500 terrorists have so far been
convicted.
“Meanwhile, the next round of
prosecution of another batch of terrorism suspects is due to commence shortly.
“The Defence Headquarters reiterates its
commitment to ensuring a well motivated, trained and equipped Armed Forces that
is professionally responsive to national security commitments”,
Nwachukwu stressed. Canadian Casino Guide
