Repentant Boko Haram Members Storm Maiduguri, Protest Hunger, Poor Welfare
LAGOS AUGUST 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Some former members of the Islamist militia, Boko Haram, protested in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Friday alleging abandonment by the government.
About 6,900 members of Boko Haram surrendered to the Nigerian authorities and renounced their membership of the terrorist organisation.
The former terrorists, who are undergoing a deradicalisation and rehabilitation programme at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri, broke out of the facility, and protested on the streets asking the government to pay them the N30,000 allowance it promised.
The protest caused tension and gridlock along the Bulumkutu – Maiduguri Highway before the security operatives arrived to douse the tension.
The former Islamists reportedly said they were forced to protest to register their disappointment to the world and the authorities because they have been neglected, left without adequate food and other welfare amenities.
They said the authorities concerned had promised to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into the society to enable them live a lawful life as responsible Nigerians.
Reaction
Reacting to the development, the state’s commissioner of Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, said ‘biometrics registration’ for repentant insurgents had resumed after the incident.
“As normalcy restored, officials of Borno State Government have on Friday resumed the biometrics data capture of repentant Boko Haram insurgents.
“A total of 6,900 repentant insurgents are processed under the multi-agency framework of Disarmament, Demobilisation, Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Reintegration (DDDRRR) otherwise known as the “Borno Model,” Mr Tar added.
He explained that the data processing process was scheduled to be conducted in six batches by a certified team of intelligence and ICT experts with the utmost level of professionalism and confidentiality in data management.
“Due to a bridge in communication, those who were supposed to appear for the data capture at a later date appeared on Friday, August 18, 2023, and this led to confusion at a camp where the exercise was being conducted.
“The Borno State government wishes to assure the public that the situation is under control and normalcy has been restored at the venue of the biometric exercise.
“The incident illustrated the sensitive task which authorities face in re-inserting former fighters back into communities that have often suffered from years of attacks and kidnappings during a 13-year Islamist insurgency,” he concluded.
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Posted by News Rangers
on Aug 20 2023. Filed under National.
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