Communities in Nigeria’s north-east, particularly Borno State, are grappling with a difficult question: can those who once took up arms against them really return – and be accepted?
Nigerian authorities hope to reintegrate more than 700 former Boko Haram fighters into civilian life under their deradicalization program, Operation Safe Corridor. Officials say the initiative is key to ending the decade-long conflict. But in communities that have suffered the brunt of extremist violence, the policy is reopening wounds that have yet to heal.
The program has been running for years, but each new wave of reunification continues to spark debate.
What is Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor?
Operation Safe Corridor, launched in 2016, is Nigeria’s deradicalization program for former Boko Haram fighters who surrender to the army.
Officials say the aim is to encourage defection and reduce recruitment. Participants undergo screening, deradicalization, psychological counseling, and vocational training before being cleared for reintegration.
According to Nigerian officials, more than 2,000 individuals have gone through this initiative. Officials say only those assessed as “low risk” are released back into society.
Usman Tarr, former commissioner of information and internal security in Borno state, which again saw violence this year, told local media: “When they return, a screening is done by the Department of State Services and they are screened by community leaders.”
Officials say the plan is working.
“We did not receive any negative reports from any of them,” Abdullahi Sabi said. Ishaq, the Borno state government’s special assistant on security, told local media.
“They were accepted by the community, and we hope it will be accepted as well.”
Concerns for Nigerian communities tired of violence
But at the grassroots level, acceptance is not guaranteed.
In Borno state, some residents, like Muhammad Sharif, told DW that the idea of living with former fighters is deeply disturbing. He suggests that former fighters should be transferred away from the communities they once attacked and describes this arrangement as “unfair”.
“If you forgive someone and want to integrate him, move him to another local government, where angry people will not be able to see that person among them. They will not give us peace,” he told DW.
Abraham Philip said communities are still grappling with the trauma, even as the government is stepping up the program.
“Yes, there is peace, but there is also destruction,” he told DW. He referred to recent attacks, including the Monday Market, Post Office and University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) bombings in Maiduguri.
Philip says communities have questions for the government, because “a lot of things are happening. Some people are saying it’s a result of the reunification that’s happening.”
Can Boko Haram members regroup?
Others say the issue is not just reintegration – but also whether former combatants have truly changed. For Usman Abubakar, a Maiduguri resident, the gap between theory and reality is significant.
“In theory, it’s a very good idea,” he said.
But he says: “We have instaIncidents where repentant Boko Haram threatened to go back into the forest if promises made to them by the state government were not fulfilled. That’s why I don’t want to call him repentant. I like to call them dedicated because you can’t see their minds.”
Some Nigerians outside the conflict-hit northeast are also divided. “It’s going to be a vicious cycle. We’ll be recycling the same individuals,” Hauwa Ajeje, a civil servant in Abuja, told DW.
University of Abuja student Raphael Ogbazi had a more optimistic view: “If they have chosen the path of peace and the path of repentance, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? Every human being can change.”
Nigerians debate justice for Boko Haram survivors
Lawyer Ahmed Abubakar told DW that reunification raises serious questions about justice for the victims.
“Those who have been negatively affected by the activities of these terrorists need compensation,” he said, questioning why former combatants were being rehabilitated while many victims were still displaced.
“Some victims are still living in camps for internally displaced people. Some have lost their homes and are not getting any kind of justice,” he said.
While Abubakar acknowledges that international law allows reintegration, he says state officials are unclear about who is being reintegrated or their level of involvement in extremist violence.