CRIME: 13 REPENTANT TERRORISTS ESCAPE WITH BORNO STATE OWNED RIFLES

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Thirteen repentant Boko Haram fighters ex-fighters have escaped with rifles and motorcycles they got from the Borno State government, which co-opted them to join military operatives in the fight against the insurgents in the State.

They are among thousands of former Boko Haram fighters and their families who surrendered to the government.

It was gathered 13 of them attached to the military operatives in Mafa escaped from their camp between September 1 and 2.

Last year, Borno Governor Babagana Zulum, said that more than 160,000 Boko Haram members and their families voluntarily surrendered to the military amid a sustained military onslaught.

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

According to reports, nearly 6,000 combatants are awaiting “transitional justice, ” and 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.

The “repentant” fighters have become helpful to the military. They are popularly known as “hybrid forces” formed by the military fighting insurgency in Borno State

“Together, they have conducted joint operations to locate and destroy Boko Haram weapons caches, rescue hostages, and fight the remaining jihadists.”

The Director Defence Media Operation, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, didn’t answer call or reply SMS seeking reaction to the story.