About 390 former Boko Haram members have completed the federal government’s de-radicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DRR) programme in Gombe state.
Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS), who spoke at the graduation ceremony on Thursday, said the ex-insurgents have undergone various rebuilding activities of the programme since their arrival at the camp in July 2024.
The CDS, represented by Sunday Makollo, an army colonel, said the federal government’s non-kinetic approach towards insurgency is having a positive effect on military operations in the north-east.
He reaffirmed the army’s commitment toward tackling insecurity in the country while urging the ex-insurgents to be agents of peace in their respective communities.
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He also cautioned them against violating the oath they took and their allegiance to the country.
Abiodun Johnson, the commandant of the DRR camp, said the graduating ex-insurgents included six foreign nationals and 384 Nigerians.
Johnson said two of the foreigners are from Cameroon and Chad, respectively, while the other four hail from the Niger Republic.
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He added that six of them are Christians and 384 are Muslims, noting that the ex-insurgents have been trained in various skills of their choice.
“A further breakdown of the 390 clients shows 13 clients hailed from Adamawa, one from Akwa-Ibom, 19 from Bauchi state, 218 from Borno, one from Cross River, one from Edo, five from Gombe, and five from Jigawa,” Johnson said.
“Others are 15 from Kaduna state, 14 from Kano state, seven from Katsina state, three from Kebbi, five from Kogi, two from Nasarawa, five from Niger, one from Osun, and two from Oyo.
“Four from Plateau, five from Sokoto state, three from Taraba, 47 from Yobe, and eight from Zamfara.”
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The ex-insurgents received food and non-food items, including 400 bags of rice (25kg), 400 bags of maize (25kg), 400 bottles of vegetable oil, 40 cartons of seasoning, and 40 cartons of tomato paste, from the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
Other items donated are 20 bags of iodised salt, 400 pieces of bath towels, 800 pieces of plastic plates, and 800 pieces of plastic spoons.
