A fresh wave of public criticism has trailed the reported graduation of 390 “repentant Boko Haram members” from a government-run rehabilitation programme in Gombe State.
The development was highlighted in a post by social commentator J.C. Okechukwu, who questioned the rationale behind what he described as a “VIP rehabilitation” for individuals linked to years of killings, abductions, rape and other atrocities associated with the insurgent group.
According to the commentary, the graduates were allegedly given ₦50,000 each, along with food items such as rice, oil, tomatoes and salt, to ostensibly support their reintegration and discourage a return to violent crime.
Okechukwu also claimed that Borno State alone has received about 300,000 former fighters, many of whom, he alleged, are neither Nigerian nationals nor subjected to any formal naturalisation process or accountability measures.
He further referenced multiple social media videos purportedly made by Nigerian soldiers expressing frustration over being deployed alongside so-called rehabilitated insurgents, with some troops alleging they resigned from service rather than fight beside individuals they had previously battled in the forests.
The commentator criticised the policy as a “red carpet transition” for ex-insurgents, insisting that it denies justice to victims and undermines the morale of security forces.
The Federal Government and relevant security agencies have not responded to the latest criticisms, though officials have repeatedly defended the rehabilitation scheme as a strategic deradicalisation effort designed to reduce recidivism and encourage stability in conflict-affected regions.
