Several ex-fighters of the Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JASDJ), popularly known as Boko Haram, have escaped with rifles and motorcycles given to them by the Borno State government, which co-opted them to join military operatives in the fight against the insurgents in the state.
The escapees are among thousands of former Boko Haram fighters and their families who had surrendered to the government.
Last year, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum revealed that more than 160,000 Boko Haram members and their families had voluntarily surrendered to the military amid a sustained military onslaught.
The “repentant” Boko Haram members and their families are being managed under the Borno Model, a post-conflict amnesty programme with a focus on deradicalisation, rehabilitation, reintegration and resettlement of low-risk persons previously associated with armed insurgent groups.
Sources familiar with the programme told newsmen that nearly 6,000 combatants are awaiting “transitional justice.” They added that the Borno State Government further co-opted some of the ex-fighters into the fight against insurgency, helping the military to penetrate deep into the terrorists’ enclaves.
These “repentant” fighters have now become helpful to the military. They are popularly known as “hybrid forces.”
Transitional justice is one of the key steps identified in the Borno Model policy aimed at facilitating truth, reconciliation, justice and peace building in the community, according to a document seen by our reporter.
