"We were deceived": Former Boko Haram member shares her journey back to light

• Fatima Musa, a erstwhile Boko Haram member, has shared her de-radicalisation travel and expressed regret implicit past extremist beliefs and actions
• The Borno Model, introduced successful 2021, has led to the wide surrender of implicit 300,000 insurgents, combining dialog and rehabilitation efforts
• Security and community-driven reintegration strategies are helping to reconstruct peace, with vocational grooming and reconciliation playing cardinal roles

Fatima Musa, a reformed erstwhile subordinate of Boko Haram, has shared her travel of translation astatine a caller assemblage dialog organized by the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development.

She reflected connected the deception that led her and galore others into the extremist ideology, acknowledging that constricted spiritual cognition played a cardinal relation successful their radicalization.

Boko Haram terrorists who laid their arms and opted to articulation government-funded rehabilitation programs were spared. Image: Getty
Source: Getty Images

We were mislead into coercion - erstwhile Boko Haram member

“We were deceived successful our younker done a misinterpretation of religion, lone to aboriginal realise that we had gone down the incorrect path,” Fatima stated.

She expressed heavy regret implicit tearing up her National Certificate successful Education (NCE) aft embracing the content that Western acquisition was forbidden.

The Allamin Foundation, led by Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin, focuses connected de-radicalising pistillate members of the sect successful northeastern Nigeria. According to Allamin, clerics play a pivotal relation successful countering extremist ideologies by providing close spiritual teachings that beforehand peace.

Many women who person undergone de-radicalisation done the instauration are present helping others permission the sect.

“Some of these women are liable for calling their pistillate friends, husbands, and children successful the bush to person them to surrender,” she explained.

Borno authorities establishes non-kinetic strategy

The Borno State authorities has implemented a non-kinetic strategy, known arsenic the ‘Borno Model,’ which provides insurgents consenting to renounce unit with an accidental to surrender to information forces.

This approach, introduced successful 2021 nether Governor Babagana Zulum, prioritizes dialog implicit subject confrontation.

Special Adviser connected Security, Retired Brigadier-General Abdullahi Ishaq, described the inaugural arsenic a community-driven solution designed to bring peace.

“This is simply a win-win concern wherever some sides person thing to gain,” helium said.

The exemplary has facilitated a wide surrender of insurgents, with implicit 100,000 individuals laying down their arms wrong months of its launch.

By aboriginal 2024, the fig of surrendered individuals had exceeded 300,000, including combatants, non-combatants, and those held captive by insurgents. Among them were women and children, including immoderate of the Chibok girls who had been classified arsenic rescued victims.

According to Borno’s Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, the Borno Model aligns with planetary standards for reintegrating erstwhile insurgents.

It follows the Disarmament, Demobilisation, De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation, Reconciliation, and Reintegration (DDDRRR) framework, akin to UN-backed initiatives successful Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Shekau decease destabilised violent group

A cardinal turning constituent for the wide surrender was the decease of Boko Haram person Abubakar Shekau, which created a enactment vacuum. Many forcibly conscripted fighters saw an accidental to flight the violence.

Many were forcibly driven retired of their residential homes and towns owed to unrelenting barrage of violent strikes. Image: Getty
Source: Getty Images

Under the initiative, erstwhile insurgents acquisition de-radicalisation done spiritual teachings and intelligence rehabilitation. Those deemed acceptable for reintegration person vocational grooming successful fields specified arsenic carpentry, tailoring, and mechanics to assistance them rebuild their lives.

Security officials oversee the process to guarantee that nary high-risk individuals instrumentality to communities without thorough screening. The authorities besides engages successful municipality hallway meetings wherever section residents can dependable concerns and enactment successful reintegration decisions.

While the inaugural has reduced panic attacks and allowed farming activities to resume successful galore parts of Borno, immoderate residents impulse the authorities to fortify some subject and non-military strategies to destruct insurgents inactive hiding successful distant areas.

Military quality gathered from surrendered fighters is seen arsenic a important instrumentality for weakening Boko Haram and ISWAP, provided it is efficaciously utilized. Security experts accent that combining some kinetic and non-kinetic approaches is indispensable to achieving lasting bid successful the region.

USAID backing assertion should beryllium investigated

Legit.ng had earlier reported that the erstwhile CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, had called connected the Nigerian authorities to analyse the allegations slammed against the USAID.

In an interview, helium criticised the delayed revelation by U.S. Congressman Scott Perry that USAID allegedly funded violent organizations, including Boko Haram, with $697 million.

Ayokunle recalled that CAN had agelong suspected overseas sponsorship of coercion successful Nigeria but was dismissed erstwhile it raised concerns, emphasizing that specified claims should not beryllium ignored.

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Source: Legit.ng