13 former members of Boko Haram fighters have reportedly escaped with rifles and motorcycles provided by the Borno State government.
These ex-fighters were originally recruited into assisting military operatives in the ongoing battle against insurgents in the state.
According to Premium Times, these fighters are part of a larger group of Boko Haram members and their families who surrendered to the government as part of an initiative aimed at addressing the insurgency.
Recall that last year, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum revealed that over 160,000 Boko Haram fighters and their families had voluntarily surrendered to the military amid an intensified military campaign against the group.
The surrendered fighters and their families are being managed under the Borno Model, a post-conflict amnesty program focused on deradicalization, rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement of low-risk individuals previously associated with the criminal elements.
Sources familiar with the program indicated that nearly 6,000 combatants are currently awaiting “transitional justice.” Furthermore, the Borno State Government has integrated some ex-fighters into anti-insurgency efforts, assisting the military in penetrating deeper into terrorist enclaves.
These “repentant” fighters have now become helpful to the military. They are popularly known as “hybrid forces.”
The military provides the ex-fighters with sophisticated rifles, motorcycles, and ammunition for joint counterinsurgency operations. 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 online paper.
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.
Meanwhile, Mr Samuel revealed that 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.
