TheCable

The Borno government says 160,000 repentant Boko Haram insurgents swore by the Quran not to return to killings.

Zuwaira Gambo, commissioner for women affairs and social development in the state, said of the figure, over 70,000 Boko Haram fighters have been reintegrated back into their communities.

Gambo spoke at the public presentation of survivors, victims and deradicalised women of Boko Haram by Allamin Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Maiduguri, the state capital.

She noted that it was untrue that the repentant Boko Haram fighters were reneging on their promise and picking up arms.

She added that the repentant fighters would not dare go back on the oath they swore because of the consequences attached.

“It is completely untrue that the repentant Boko Haram fighters are reneging on their repentance and returning to the bush to continue fighting,” Gambo said.

“Out of the over 160,000 who repented, we have already reintegrated over 70,000 in their home communities, and I can assure you that no one will be missing should we decide to gather all of them for anyone to confirm. We operate a transparent process of their repentance.

“We subject each of them to proper oath taking with the Holy Quran that he or she will never return to the bush to fight, and he or she swears with the Holy Quran in the presence of a committee comprising traditional rulers, religious leaders and government officials.

“No repentant Boko Haram dare renege on the oath because he or she knows what it means to swear with the Holy Quran and renege. And he or she knows that he or she dare not return to the bush because he or she knows that death awaits him on arrival, their commanders in the bush will kill him because they would not trust him.”