Good Signal!

This week 559 ex-Boko Haram members graduated from a de-radicalization programme after receiving training. The graduation ceremony that took place in the north-eastern state of Gombe came on the heels of a pledge by graduands to pay allegiance to the Nigerian authorities they once fought against. The military-run initiative introduced in 2015 by the Nigerian government and became operational in 2016 as part of its counter-terrorism strategies has been described by many analysts as a window through which repentant children of the nation are brought back on the rail.
After voluntarily laying down their arms and surrendering to the authorities, the ex-Boko Haram fighters are given special training including vocational skills, religious reorientation and psychological support to de-radicalize them before being reintegrated into the society. The total number of those who have completed the programme now stands at 1,629, with many more in the pipe especially through the safe exit program, “Operation Safe Corridor,” wh...