No fewer than 13 ‘repentant’ members of Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JASDJ), popularly known as Boko Haram have escaped with sophisticated weapons and motorcycles provided to them by the Borno State Government, PREMIUM TIMES reports.
The newspaper reported that the ‘escaped’ repentant terrorists were being trained and equipped by the Borno Government for them to join the Nigerian military in the fight against insurgents in the state.
In July, SaharaReporters reported how the state government said it had successfully reintegrated 8,490 ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members into society through the Borno Model process.
This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, during an oath-taking ceremony in Maiduguri for 560 ‘repentant’ Boko Haram fighters considered to be of low risk.
Tar revealed that a total of 8,490 individuals, including the group of 560, had been reintegrated into their communities after undergoing thorough clearance by military and security agencies, as well as traditional leaders from their respective communities.
The state government also established “hybrid forces” to integrate some of these ex-terrorists into the security forces that are assigned to fight terrorism in the northeast region.
Meanwhile, according to the PREMIUM TIMES report, the ‘repentant’ terrorists are provided with sophisticated rifles, motorcycles, and ammunition for joint counterinsurgency operations.
However, the weapons are always recovered from them after every operation.
However, recent findings by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that 13 of them attached to the military in Mafa escaped from their camp between the September 1 and 2, 2024.
The newspaper quoted Malik Samuel, a researcher with a deep understanding of jihadi groups in northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region.
The source added that one of the escapees called Abdullahi Ishaq, a special adviser to the government on security matters, threatening to wreak more havoc in the state.
After their escape, the jubilant terrorists released a video brandishing the rifles.
In December 2021, SaharaReporters reported how some of the Boko Haram terrorists who had surrendered their arms threatened to rejoin the terrorist group if the Nigerian government continued to fail in its promises.
A former Boko Haram insurgent, Mohammed accused the government of failing to fulfil its promises, listing education, shelter and employment as the main benefits offered to them by the government as incentives to desert the deadly group.
