At least 390 repentant Boko Haram insurgents have graduated from the Federal Government’s De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration programme in Gombe State, after which they will be reintegrated into the society.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),
Gen. Christopher Musa who presided over the graduation ceremony held at the training center at Malam Sidi in the Kwami Local Government Area of the state on Friday, said the intensive training was to quicken the reintegration of the graduates into the society and discourage them from going back to crimes and insurgency.
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Zubaida Umar, who addressed the fresh graduates, said the Federal Government is committed to addressing insecurity in the country.
Umar who was represented by NEMA’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Cdr. Abang Oyong, commended the resilience of the Nigerian Armed Forces for using both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the country.
She also lauded President Bola Tinubu for having the political will and for approving the expansion of programme to cover the six geo-political zones, especially with the inclusion of the North-West and the establishment of the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration camp in Zamfara State.
As a take off grant to ease the graduates into the society, a starter pack with the sum of N50,000 were donated to them along with various food items including 400 bags of 25kg rice, 400 bags of 25kg maize, 400 bottles of vegetable oil, 40 cartons of seasoning, and 40 cartons of tomato paste, 20 bags of iodised salt, 400 pieces of bath towels and 800 pieces of plastic plates.
According to Umar, the items will help to stabilise the repentant terrorists after the DRR programme and enable their seamless reintegration into society.
© Ripples Nigeria
