Borno State: On the Escape of Six Unarmed Repentant Insurgents
The attention of the Borno state government has been drawn to a recent escape of 6 repentant insurgents that had surrendered to the Borno State Government and processed under the Borno Model of Reconciliation, Peacebuilding and Development. The Borno state government is fully aware of the incident and remains committed to collaborating with the relevant agencies to track and arrest the escapees.
These Repentant returnees are part of a cohort of over 20,000 militants that were recently documented, processed, profiled and categorised as "low risk" in terms of their mental state, vulnerability to violent extremism, propensity for psychotropic substance abuse and probability of relapse to violence.
These repentant insurgents escaped unarmed and are being tracked down. Regarding the rumours that the absonders escaped with government arms, preliminary investigation reveals that this was not true. Terrorists and other violent non-state actors have historically acquired weapons from various subterranean sources, which they use in their propaganda videos. Therefore, seeing weapons in such videos does not imply they belong to the government.
It is important to note that the six absconders are a very small and insignificant number when compared to the over 20,000 repentant individuals who were successfully processed and domiciled in the exit programme.
The Borno State Government wishes to warn the public and stakeholders that we should be careful not to give in to terrorists' propaganda by demoralising our gallant troops and law-abiding citizens, as any amplification of this unfortunate situation may likely embolden the terrrosits and undermine the ongoing counter-insurgency operations.
Citizens should be rest assured of that all that is being done to ensure peace in Borno State. We urge citizens and stakeholders to continue to support the government's efforts in that regard. The Government is committed to restoring peace and security across the state.
Prof Usman Tar
Commissioner, Ministry of Information and Internal Security, Borno State
