2 repentant insurgents reunited with families in Kebbi

Two insurgents of Kebbi State origin, who were arrested in the theatre of war in the North-East geopolitical zone, have returned to the state after they were deradicalised.

The repentant insurgents were not only deradicalised for onward integration into the society but also rehabilitated.

While in the camp in Gombe State, they were made to learn some trade as part of the processes for their reintegration into society.

Our reporter in the state reports that their reintegration into the society was done by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) with traditional leaders and heads of security agencies in attendance.

In his remarks, the SSG, Babale Umar Yauri, commended the repentant insurgents for denouncing the evil ways, saying the state government was willing to support them in order to deter them from contemplating rejoining the terrorist gang.

According to him, the state government is already working on a small working capital and starter pack for them to start a new life.

The Special Adviser on Security to

Governor AtikuBagudu, Col. Garba Kamba (rtd), said although the two were radicalised by the insurgents, they were not members of the Boko Haram sect.

He said they were only arrested by the military in the insurgents’ enclave.

He added that they were among the 601 Boko Haram insurgents that were deradicalised in MallamSidi camp in Gombe State, saying since they had gone through the process of deradicalization and rehabilitation, they were now going to be reintegrated into the society.

Kamba called on the general public not to stigmatize them as they had repented and were ready to be accepted back into society as law-abiding citizens.

“The two persons returned to the state after their deradicalizationprogramme in MallamSidi Camp. They were caught while wandering in Boko Haram enclave by the military in the war theatre.

“We are going to reintegrate them into society. They will be given a starter pack for the training they had gone through while in MallamSidi Camp in Gombe State.

“They are from Suru and Kalgo local government councils. They will continue to be monitored by security agencies as part of their formal reintegration,” he said

Abubakar Auwal (Sokoto), Aliyu Hamagam (Kebbi), Shehu Umar (Zamfara) Page Designer: Stanley B. Bainta