…Yet Attacks Persist as Group Regroups
Three hundred thousand – that is the number of souls once sworn to terror who, over the past three years, have surrendered and been welcomed back into society in Borno State—an act of hope shadowed by the haunting memories of a 15-year insurgency that refuses to end.
Governor Babagana Zulum revealed the number during a high-level security meeting with Nigeria’s Defense Minister, Badaru Abubakar, and top military commanders in Maiduguri last week.
Earlier in April, Zulum had warned that Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters are regrouping in parts of Borno, particularly the Tumbus of Lake Chad and the Mandara Hills in the Sambisa Forest.
“In the past few weeks, Boko Haram has dislodged military formations in Wajirko, Sabon Gari, Wulgo, and Izge,” Zulum said. “These attacks, often unchallenged, clearly indicate that we are being pushed back.”
He described the resurgence of violence as a “significant setback” in the fight against insurgency, warning that Borno is “losing ground” while the terrorists are “regaining strength.”
Zulum’s statement came after weeks of escalating violence, with attacks reported across Damboa, Gamboru Ngala, and Gwoza Counties that saw multiple security outposts dislodged by the Islamist militants.
Yet even as insecurity persists, Borno is pushing forward with its ambitious reintegration effort known as the “Borno Model,” a post-conflict deradicalisation, rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement program that offers quick amnesty to Boko Haram terrorists who voluntarily surrender to the Nigerian military.
Under the program, repentant insurgents are processed, trained, and reintegrated to society. Every participant is required to swear an oath on the Qur’an in the presence of traditional rulers, religious leaders, and government officials, pledging never to pick up arms again.
“We subject each of them to proper oath taking with the Holy Qur’an that he or she will never return to the bush to fight,” said Zuwaira Gambo, Borno’s Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development.
Officials claim there is no breach of trust. “No repentant Boko Haram member dares renege on their oath,” Gambo added, explaining that the fear of religious consequences and distrust from former commanders keeps them from returning to “the bush.”
During one of such oath-taking ceremonies last year, Prof. Usman Tar, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, said surveys conducted by the government found no evidence that reintegrated fighters had returned to violence.
The “Borno Model” also includes skills training in areas such as carpentry, mechanics, phone repairs, and farming. Graduates receive resettlement packages dubbed “starter packs”, consisting of small grants and equipment, to set up businesses and rebuild their lives.
In some cases, repentant fighters are recruited as “hybrid forces” to assist the military in its counter-insurgency operations because of their inside knowledge of insurgent networks.
While the “Borno Model” has earned praise from federal authorities, skepticism remains high among residents, many of whom still bear the deep scars of Boko Haram’s violence. Fear and mistrust linger, especially as attacks continue in parts of the northeastern state.
Still, the Borno government insists that after 15 years of bloodshed, purely military solutions have failed to bring peace and that non-kinetic strategies like the “Borno Model” may offer the best hope for ending the conflict.
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