The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed claims that repentant terrorists are being secretly recruited into the Nigerian military, insisting that such allegations are false.
The clarification comes amid concerns that some rehabilitated insurgents are allegedly acting as informants for Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters in the North-East. DHQ, however, described such fears as unfounded.
Brigadier General Yusuf Ali, Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja. He explained that repentant insurgents enrolled in the programme are low-risk individuals who were either forced to join terrorist groups or escaped when the opportunity arose.
“We are not recruiting any killers into the army, and we can never do that.
“There is no way the repentant terrorists, who are low-risk terrorists, who were conscripted, forced to join the Boko Haram insurgency against their will, and many who escaped from the terrorists’ dens when the opportunity came, can go back to the terrorists’ group.
“They will be killed. The high-risk terrorists believe they are now government spies who have benefitted and will sell them out,” he said.
Ali emphasised that the Nigerian Army maintains strict recruitment standards that automatically disqualify anyone with a criminal record.
“Once you have any criminal record, you cannot join the military or any security agency,” he added.
He further clarified that Operation Safe Corridor is not a military recruitment scheme but a rehabilitation and reintegration initiative for surrendered insurgents.
Launched between 2015 and 2016 at the peak of insurgency in the North-East, the programme targets individuals who voluntarily surrendered or fled from terrorist groups, many of whom were coerced into joining after attacks on communities such as Gwoza, Bama, and Madagali.
According to Ali, a multi-agency screening process involving the Ministry of Justice and other stakeholders categorises participants into low, medium, and high-risk groups.
“Only the low-risk group is admitted into Operation Safe Corridor for rehabilitation – these are individuals the justice system has determined have no case to answer,” he said.
He added that participants undergo de-radicalisation, trauma counselling, and vocational training, including skills such as tailoring, carpentry, and farming, to aid their reintegration into society.
Ali stressed that the programme does not replace the criminal justice system.
“Hardcore terrorists captured during operations are prosecuted and, if convicted, imprisoned,” he said.
“The programme operates on a dual-track system: criminal justice for offenders and rehabilitation and reintegration for victims.”
He reiterated that Operation Safe Corridor is focused on preventing a return to violence, not recruiting former insurgents into the military.
