35,000 B/Haram members, families have surrendered – Borno govt

The Borno State government has said more than 35,000 Boko Haram insurgents and their families have surrendered while three more Chibok girls have also returned.

The special adviser to the governor on security matters, Brigadier General AS Ishaq (rtd), confirmed this during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the reintegration of repentant Boko Haram hosted by the Peace Ambassadors Center for Humanitarian Aid and Empowerment (PACHE) in Maiduguri yesterday.

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Ishaq, who also delivered a paper detailing how the over 35,000 Boko Haram surrenders were being managed, said the non-kinetic approach adopted by Operation Hadin Kai of the Nigeria Military Command and Control Centre played an immense role that led to the mass surrender.

He said the repentant Boko Haram members would not harm anyone because they were not forced to repent.

The Chief Executive Officer PACHE, Ahmed Shehu, said the dialogue was aimed at fashioning out an all-inclusive and homegrown policy and practice change that will complement and support the efforts of the state government.