Gov Zulum Counters Gov. El-Rufai, Says Repentant Boko Haram insurgents Are Genuine

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has declared that over 90 per cent of the ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members have genuinely dropped their weapons.

He disclosed this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Return and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el- Rufai, had on Tuesday said there was nothing like a repentant bandit or terrorist, adding that no legitimate government could survive tolerating terrorists or negotiating with those disturbing law-abiding citizens.

The Nigerian military launched Operation Safe Corridor in a bid to deradicalise, rehabilitate and reintegrate the repentant insurgents.

The Nigerian Army claimed in November last year that over 17,000 insurgents had surrendered to troops in the North-East .

The governor, who addressed State House correspondents after the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Return, and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the North-East, said he was 100 per cent confident about the sincerity of the repentant insurgents.

Zulum said: “While there is no perfect process in the world, so far, so good, the rehabilitation process for repentant insurgents has yielded positive results.

“I believe that over 90 percent of those that have surrendered are doing well and have given the government the necessary support. They are also calling their colleagues in the bush to come out and join the process of peacebuilding.”