New Telegraph

‘Gather, use intelligence from repentant B’Haram members’

Four year after the military commenced the deradicalisation of repentant Boko Haram members under its Operation Safe Corridor, security experts have described the exercise as a charade because it has not produced any corresponding success in the war against insurgency.

 

Operation Safe Corridor, a multi-agency programme established in 2016 has coordinated the deradicalisation of a total of 882 “repentant” Boko Haram members who have taken an oath of allegiance, faithfulness, loyal, discipline and obedience to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

According to the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General John Enenche, the ex-insurgents, who have completed de-radicalization, rehabilitation and re-integration programme at Malam Sidi Camp, took the Oath before an 11-member quasi-judicial panel.

 

But four years down the road, the security experts comprising a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, a former Director of the Department of State Services, (DSS), and an international acclaimed certified security  professional and policy analyst, said the deradicalisation programme (a process of changing these insurgents’ belief system, making them to reject extremist ideology, and embracing mainstream values), was ill-conceived, illtimed and most importantly not produced the intelligence required to fight the war against the insurgents.

 

Mr. Mike Ejiofor, a lawyer and retired DSS boss, said: “I’m yet to see the effects of the deradicalisation in the war against insurgency in the North. The philosophy behind deradicalisation is that the ex-insurgents have surrendered; they are debriefed in the process of which they provide information which are processed into intelligence for military and sundry activities against the insurgents.

 

“But from all indications, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m yet to see any evidence that any intelligence has been obtained from these exinsurgents, despite the fact that they were camped and trained for six to nine months by the military.”

 

On his part, security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu described the exercise as a charade because it is untimely and it failed to comply with basic security procedure. “Deradicalisation is usually done at the end of a war,

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