NaijWeb Keeping you informed…
Thirteen former Boko Haram fighters who surrendered and were enlisted to fight against the insurgents have escaped with government-issued rifles and motorcycles.
The escapees were part of a group of thousands of former fighters and their families who had surrendered to the government and were being rehabilitated.
However, instead of being reformed, they have gone back to their violent ways, threatening to unleash more violence.
The escapees, who were attached to the military operatives in Mafa, fled their camp between September 1 and 2. Malik Samuel, a researcher with a deep understanding of jihadi groups in northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, said that eight ex-fighters escaped on September 1, followed by five others the next day.
The escapees called Abdullahi Ishaq, a special adviser to the government on security matters, and threatened to unleash more violence.
After their escape, the jubilant terrorists reportedly released a video branding the rifles.
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The state government is yet to react to this development, which has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program.
Moreover, the escape of these former fighters and their threats of more violence have caused panic among the locals, who are now living in fear of another attack.
The government needs to take immediate action to recapture these escapees and prevent them from causing harm to innocent people.
Furthermore, the government should review its rehabilitation program to ensure that it is effective in reforming the fighters and preventing them from going back to their violent ways.
The government’s decision to give them a free hand right from the onset has been questioned, and it is now clear that it was a mistake.
The government should have kept them in a secure camp until they were truly reformed and ready to integrate back into society.
Now, they have lost the trust of the people and are on the run again, which is not beneficial to them or society.
They need to be rooted out and brought to justice for the pain they have caused.
