“160,000 repentant terrorists can’t return to killings, they swore with Quran” – Borno govt

The Borno State Government has said that the 160,000 repentant Boko Haram insurgents cannot return to killings because they swore to an oath with the Quran.

The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, stated this on Wednesday, February 14.

Gambo, whose ministry oversees the affairs of the ex-combatants and rescued captives, added that of the 160,000 repentant insurgents, 70,000 had been resettled and reintegrated into their communities.

Gambo stressed that having sworn by the Quran the ex-terrorists would never return to the bush to rejoin Boko Haram.

She spoke at the public presentation of survivors, victims and deradicalised women of Boko Haram by the UKAID-assisted Maiduguri-based non-governmental organisation, Allamin Foundation.

The commissioner allayed the growing public fears that the resurgence of terror in the North-East was being caused by the repentant terrorists reneging on their repentance and trooping back to the bush to pick up arms against the Nigerian state.

“It is completely untrue that the repentant Boko Haram fighters are reneging on their repentance and returning to the bush to continue fighting.

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“Out of the over 160,000 who repented, we have already reintegrated over 70,000 in their home communities, and I can assure you that no one will be missing should we decide to gather all of them for anyone to confirm. We operate a transparent process of their repentance.”

Gambo said she was sure the repentant insurgent would not return to the trenches, having taken an oath with the Quran.

“We subject each of them to proper oath taking with the Holy Quran that he or she will never return to the bush to fight; and he or she swears with the Holy Quran in the presence of a committee comprising traditional rulers, religious leaders and government officials.

“No repentant Boko Haram dare renege on the oath because he or she knows what it means to swear with the Holy Quran and renege; and he or she knows that he or she dare not return to the bush because he or she knows that death awaits him on arrival; their commanders in the bush will kill him because they would not trust him.”

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The commissioner said about 75 per cent of the repentant insurgents were originally farmers, who were captured and forced into insurgency.

“They were not real fighters,” she said, adding that the state government would study the entire charters of demand and do everything it could about them.