A repentant Boko Haram terrorist, who recently dropped their arms and surrendered to troops of the Nigerian Army in the North East Theatre of Operation HADIN KAI, has urged his colleagues who are yet to surrende,r to do so. He says he deeply regrets joining the terrorist group and taking up arms against the Nigerian nation as well as killing fellow citizens in the North East region.
Some repentant Boko Haram terrorists
The repentant terrorist is among several former Boko Haram terrorists who are currently being profiled by troops of the Nigerian Army in a facility in Borno and he said he and his colleagues could no longer continue living in the bush and constantly in fear of the imminent bombardment by the troops of the Armed Forces so they decided to lay down their arms upon realization that their commanders actually lied to them about reason behind their recruitment into the terrorist group.
According to him, they would have surrendered a long time ago but for fear of being captured and killed by the military and surrendering became their best option.
“We were afraid that we would be killed if we come out but it is not so because we were received without attacking us and we are also being treated humanely since we came out.
“I want to urge my colleagues who are still in the bush to come out and surrender because they will be accepted,” he said.
21 Armoured Brigade Bama
Meanwhile the Commander, 21 Special Armoured Brigade Bama, Brigadier General Adewale Adekeye, has stated that they have been receiving and profiling thousands of Boko Haram fighters who surrender alongside their families and supporters since for months now.
He said the theatre command is not unaware of the fears and apprehension that the surrendering had endangered in the minds of the civilian populace in Borno and the nation at large but explained that the surrendering was a normal practice in warfare.
According to him, even in the law of war, when somebody surrenders to you, there are things you are expected to do and that’s what the army has been doing.
“The number of insurgents that have surrendered is quite large, however, most of them have been processed and moved down to the holding facility organised by Borno State Government in Maiduguri. But we are the first point of call for these insurgents coming down from the bushes and therefore, many responsibilities are bestowed on us being the first contact to profiling them,” he said.
The Brigade Commander said the surrendering events had been taking place within Bama Local Government Area of Borno given its large size and within the proximity to Sambisa Forest.
He added that all units had been instructed on how to receive the surrendering terrorists, process them and evacuate them to Bama main holding cell for further processes, saying the exercise had been going on since July.
He, however, denied insinuation that the surrendered terrorists were being housed in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp anywhere in the state.
Ime N
