TheCable

A repentant Boko Haram insurgent has appealed to his former colleagues to lay down their arms and embrace the amnesty offered by the federal government.

According to NAN, the repentant insurgent made the appeal on Tuesday when top army officers visited the facility housing the surrendered terrorists in Borno.

“We were afraid that we would be killed if we come out but it is not so because we were received without attacking us and we are also being treated humanely since we came out,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“I want to urge my colleagues who are still in the bush to come out and surrender because they will be accepted.”

The repentant insurgent said after six years of war, he realised that they were “not fighting any just cause”.

Adewale Adekeye, commander, 21 special armoured brigade, Bama, said it is a normal practice to accept surrendered insurgents.

“The number of insurgents that have surrendered is quite large but, however, most of them have been processed and moved down to the holding facility organised by Borno state government in Maiduguri,” he said.

“But we are the first point of call for these insurgents coming down from the bush and therefore, many responsibilities are bestowed on us being the first contact to profiling them.”

The brigade commander denied claims that the repentant insurgents were camped with internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“We don’t mix them with the IDPs and of course, you know that the IDPs camp Bama is one of the oldest camps in Borno state,” he said.

“Population in the camp has reduced due to the resettlement of the IDPs back to their ancestral homes but the IDPS camp is a separate thing and it is not under my command but the state emergency management agency.”

Also speaking, Onyema Nwachukwu, director, army public relations, said: “We have seen quite a large abandonment of the illicit activities of Boko Haram terrorists and that is the more reason why we decided to come to the theatre of operation to see for ourselves.”