Thirteen former fighters of the Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JASDJ), commonly known as Boko Haram, have reportedly escaped with rifles and motorcycles provided to them by the Borno State government.
The ex-fighters are part of a larger group of thousands who had surrendered to the government, seeking to distance themselves from the insurgency.
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum previously revealed that more than 160,000 Boko Haram members and their families had voluntarily surrendered amid ongoing military operations against the insurgents.
These “repentant” militants are being managed under the Borno Model, a post-conflict amnesty programme aimed at deradicalisation, rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement of low-risk individuals previously associated with armed groups.
Sources familiar with the situation indicated that nearly 6,000 combatants are currently awaiting “transitional justice” under this framework.
The Borno State Government had co-opted some of these former fighters into assisting military efforts against insurgency, utilizing their knowledge of the insurgents’ hideouts.
These individuals, often referred to as “hybrid forces,” have been instrumental in conducting joint operations with the military, including locating and destroying weapons caches and rescuing hostages.
A defence journalist in the state who spoke with Premium Times said, “Their involvement has significantly helped the military.
“They have led the troops into the hideouts of the terrorists where the military recovered a large amount of ammunition around the Timbuktu axis.”
According to the platform, military provides the ex-fighters with sophisticated rifles, motorcycles, and ammunition for joint counterinsurgency operations. Sources revealed that these weapons are always recovered from them after any operation.
Unfortunately, 13 of them attached to the military operatives in Mafa escaped from their camp between the 1st and 2nd of September, Malik Samuel, a researcher with a deep understanding of jihadi groups in northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, told the platform.
Mr Samuel, a senior researcher with Good Governance Africa, said eight ex-fighters first escaped from the camp on 1 September before five others followed suit the next day.
He said the escapees called Abdullahi Ishaq, a special adviser to the government on security matters, threatening to unleash more violence.
After their escape, the jubilant terrorists released a video brandishing the rifles.
Mr Ishaq, a retired brigadier general who promoted the Borno Model programme, could not be reached for comments. He did not respond to calls and messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp. Also, calls and messages sent to the Acting Deputy Director of the army’s operations in Borno, Operation Hadin Kai, Rugben Kovangya, and the Borno State Commissioner for Information & Internal Security, Usman Tar, were not responded to.
Why did they leave, and where did they go?
This is not the first time ex-fighters and their families who surrendered would return to their previous lives, multiple sources, including Mr Samuel, told PREMIUM TIMES.
They said this was worrisome because it seemed planned.
“The reason for their exit may have to do with the management of the Borno Model programme,” a source familiar with the workings of the programme said in confidence. “These guys were promised many things… about skill acquisition, stipends, a better life and reintegration into the society, but not many of these promises have been kept by the government.”
The “repentant” terrorists and their families had staged protests, as seen here and here, decrying poor planning [by the government] and demanding better welfare and a clear reintegration procedure.
According to Mr Samuel, the terrorists fled to Darul Gazuwa, a renegade Boko Haram faction led by a senior commander, Alhai Kale. The group, Mr Samuel said, terrorises villagers around Bama, Konduga, Mafa and Dikwa.
Premium Times noted that the escapees risk death if they return to Boko Haram enclaves in Mandara Mountain, which Ali Ngulde controls, or the Barwa Island, where Bakura Doro, the overall Boko Haram leader, holds sway.
“Hence they chose to go to the Alhai Kale-led Darul Gazuwa faction,” Mr Samuel explained, adding the renegade faction, although disagrees with Mr Doro’s leadership, “they are still technically part of JASDJ.”
The group mainly specialises in kidnapping-for-ransom and highway robbery, Mr Samuel noted, adding “economic reasons contributed to the recidivism.”
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