Repented Terrorists And Nigeria’s Future

The Problem With Nigeria's Terrorist Reintegration Programme

On Friday, 12 June 2026, the Borno State government held a big public ceremony to welcome 720 “repentant” terrorists back into society. The very next day, Saturday, 13 June, Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in Chibok and burned down two schools. This sequence of events captures a strange paradox Nigerians have had to live with for several years now: watching the government pardon terrorists while communities continue to be ravaged by the v…

Repented Terrorists And Nigeria’s Future

By Obinna Chima, Editor, THISDAY Saturday The recent decision by the Borno State Government to reintegrate 720 men who were formerly alleged to have been involved in acts of terrorism, their 992 spouses, and 2,050 children, who were said to have repented, deradicalised and rehabilitated in Maiduguri, has continued to attract outrage. According to the state government, during the programme, the repentant insurgents were made to swear by the Holy …