By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Borno State Government has made significant progress in rehabilitating repentant Boko Haram insurgents, with over 200,000 surrendering and undergoing various programs aimed at deradicalization, reconciliation, and reintegration.
The Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, stated this on Tuesday at the “End of Project Dissemination of Best Practices of Building Bridges of Reconciliation Community-Based Deradicalizarion of Women and Girls” in Borno State held at the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Auditorium, Musa Usman Secretariat Complex Maiduguri.
Hajiya Gambo said out of the total number of repentant, 85,579 men are now full-time farmers, 6,760 are fighters undergoing deradicalization, and 33,000 are women, including widows and minors.
She said the government would collaborate with the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development to provide support and empowerment programs for the repentant and victims of the insurgency.
The foundation’s Executive Chairman, Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin, appealed for continued support and collaboration from government and non-governmental organizations to enable the foundation to discharge its mandate effectively.
Hajiya Hamsatu commended the Borno State Government’s efforts and support in deradicalization, reconciliation, demobilization, skills acquisition training, and empowerment programs.
She also applauded the state government’s Borno Model Concept, which coordinates and manages the rehabilitation of voluntarily surrendered Boko Haram insurgents, their families, children, orphans, and widows.
Brigadier General Abdullahi Sabi Ishaq, Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, urged religious and community leaders to promote peace, unity, reintegration, and reconciliation. He praised the state’s security agencies for their tireless efforts to restore peace and ensure development. He also acknowledged the Allamin Foundation’s impressive commitment to humanitarian activities and service to humanity.
Earlier, Dr. Lawan Balami, Project Monitoring & Evaluation Consultant, presented the foundation’s aims, objectives, mission, and vision. He discussed project implementation, research findings, target groups, and challenges encountered during the research.
Sheikh Ibrahim Mustapha, a Deradicalization Consultant, highlighted the misconceptions about Islam and Jihad that fueled Boko Haram’s propaganda across 27 local government areas in the state.
The event featured goodwill messages from various stakeholders, including religious and community leaders, security agents.
(National Accord)
