13 Repentant Boko Haram Escapes With Rifles, Motorcycles In Borno

The 13 escapees are thousands of former Boko Haram fighters and their families who had to the government.

The “repentant” Boko Haram members and their families are being managed under the Borno Model, a post-conflict amnesty programme with a focus on deradicalization, rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement of low-risk persons previously associated with armed insurgent groups.

In 2023, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum disclosed that more than 160,000 Boko Haram members and their families had voluntarily surrendered to the military amid a sustained military onslaught.

The Borno State Government further co-opted some of the ex-fighters into the fight against insurgency, helping the military to penetrate deep into the terrorists’ enclaves.

These “repentant” fighters have now become helpful to the military. They are popularly known as “hybrid forces.”

Sources familiar with the programme told PREMIUM TIMES that nearly 6,000 combatants are awaiting “transitional justice.”

Transitional justice is one of the key steps identified in the Borno Model policy aimed at facilitating truth, reconciliation, justice, and peace building in the community.