Nigeria’s Government Cuddling Terrorists

Nigerian government need to understand that deradicalizing former Boko Haram members should not substitute for severely punishing them for the heinous crimes they committed over a period of more than 10 years. Any program intended to deradicalize these terrorists must also take into account the need to offer victims, traumatized families, communities, and society with justice and a sense of closure for their experiences.

 

There are still over 2 million individuals in northern Nigeria who have been displaced by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram and who are trying to reconstruct their lives as you read this. Camps established and managed by state governments in the northeast region have become safe havens for many people who have been displaced from their homes. With an estimated 1.8 million displaced people living in Borno State (one of the states in northern Nigeria) in the center of the conflict, the state government there began closing camps in the state capital of Maiduguri in 2021. Nigeria has violated its obligations under African regional law and international law regarding the rights of internally displaced persons by ordering people to leave camps without consulting with them, providing them with adequate information, or providing them with viable alternatives to ensure their safety and livelihoods. Nigerian domestic policy norms have also been violated by the actions.

Public data suggests that many displaced persons, who were already suffering from the fighting, have fallen further into poverty as a result of the camps' closure, finding it difficult to find food, satisfy basic necessities, or find safe housing. State governments in northern Nigeria plan to close the remaining camps, and residents are understandably worried that they may suffer the same fate if nothing changes in the authorities' attitude to the crisis.

Meanwhile, as part of Nigeria Federal Government's Operation Safe Corridor rehabilitation and reintegration program, the Nigerian military has just released another 594 Boko Haram militants and facilitators into society. A training center in the Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State released the so-called "repentant" Islamist militants, the latest in a program whose success is still up for debate. The government should proceed cautiously along this path to satisfy the demands of justice without releasing hardened killers on the public, as has been said to be the case with some former fighters.

There are important points that need to be taken into consideration. The first is the all-encompassing idea of wrongdoing and retribution. Even while the modern justice system's end purpose is to rehabilitate lawbreakers, this does not negate the importance of imposing severe punishments and serving as a deterrent for the commission of serious offenses. One more thing is to make the distinction between extremist Salafist killers on the one hand and fringe players such as those who provide support for them, as well as those who were coerced into terrorism or family members of terrorists.

Most significantly, any program intended to deradicalize individuals must take into account the need to offer victims, traumatized families, communities, and society with justice and a sense of closure for their experiences.

 

A Plan Written in Jelly

Since 2009, Islamist extremists have been responsible for a horrifyingly wide range of atrocities in northern Nigeria. During the ceremony that marked the completion of the program for the 594 purportedly reformed terrorists, the coordinator of the program, an Army major-general named Joseph Maina, recalled that more than two million people had been displaced within their own country, and hundreds of thousands of others had been forced to seek refuge in countries that were nearby.

According to the Health and Human Rights Journal, there have been 43,000 homicides, the destruction of entire communities, and other horrifying violations of human rights in the 12 years leading up to 2021. These violations include kidnappings, sexual violence, forced labor, forced conscription of children, looting, and arson. The governor of Borno State estimated at the time that the number of deaths would exceed 100,000 by 2019. Boko Haram and its offshoots have been responsible for a number of atrocities, including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014 and another 110 schoolgirls from Dapchi in 2018, as well as massacres, the widespread destruction of schools, and jail breakouts.

According to UNICEF, there has been a reduction of access to quality education for 1.3 million children, and 56% of the children who have been uprooted in the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa are unable to attend school. Notwithstanding the pathetically low number of trials and even fewer convictions, the Nigeria's federal government has selected Operation Safe Corridor as a non-kinetic multi-agency method in support of military efforts since 2015.  This counter-terrorism strategy, despite the government's claims of success, is provocatively lopsided. Although efforts are made to de-radicalize secondary actors, the world's most hardened terrorists and their sponsors must be relentlessly prosecuted. A blanket amnesty that doesn't require a trial and penalty will only rewards the murderers.

There have been mass releases of terrorists and their families by the government and the military. Almost 500 people were laid off in March of 2022. Over 900 "repentant" Boko Haram members were registered by the Nigerian Identity Management Commission in 2020. In 2019, the Nigerian Army reported successfully rehabilitating 893 former Boko Haram fighters. Alarmingly, the fears that have been voiced by the victims of so-called rehabilitated terrorists returning to their communities have not been given the due consideration that they deserve. In addition, the thousands of citizens who have been relocated to camps known as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) have not been given the adequate support they need to fully recover from the trauma that was inflicted on them by jihadists. This is a situation that needs to be rectified immediately.

The Nigerian government had persisted in making an incorrect diagnosis of the issue. Salafism is an apocalyptic ideology whose supporters are hellbent on forcing their version of Islam on the rest of the world and establishing a global caliphate. They believe that this would bring about the end of the world. The Salafist yearns for death in the service of jihad because they have their sights set on an eternity that is filled with unending sumptuous reward. They can pretend to repent, as the US-led coalition forces learned in Afghanistan, bide their time, infiltrate the security and civilian establishment, and execute crimes at an appropriate time. They are adaptable and tenacious.

Meanwhile, terrorism is considered a serious offense under Nigeria's current legal system, and those who are found guilty face harsh penalties. Because of this, it is both unethical and unjust to let Boko Haram terrorists off the hook by saying that they are participating in a "rehabilitation" or "de-radicalization" program.

 

Crumbled Promises

The deadly narrative of atrocities committed by the so-called rehabilitated or de-radicalized terrorists is hinted at by stories in the media that purported former members of Boko Haram have returned to their old habits and are now spying for other terrorist organizations. In March, security forces detained Ba'anaBdiya, a purportedly "repentant" Boko Haram fighter, in connection with an attack with a bomb that claimed the lives of some security personnel. The suspect, also known by his alias "Manci," provided logistical support to the militants that ambushed the troops. It was also reported a week earlier that two "repentant" Boko Haram commanders, Goni Farouq and Amir Zabu, were captured via phone intercepts planning assaults on troops.  In a similar fashion, in July 2022, some terrorists who were among the 800 people who had been "reintegrated" into the Bama village in Borno State detonated an improvised explosive device, which resulted in the deaths of eight people in the community. It was stated that the suspects kept in touch with their former coworkers and were secretly leaving the city to conduct business with other terrorists.

The demoralization of terrorists' victims, which includes troops, police, and other members of the security forces, as well as the thousands of citizens who have been slain in the conflict, is caused by releasing terrorists without putting them on trial. Many criticisms of the program have been voiced by professionals in the field of security and human rights organizations. A retired brigadier-general named Sani Usman stated that the Federal Government needs to step in, establish a committee, and review them critically based on their role in the insurgency. He suggested that the Federal Government should take these steps. The judicial system must take part in every aspect of this.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) is unrelenting in its criticism of the Nigeria's de-radicalization exercise. It maintains that the strategy of allowing terrorists back into society after they may have and, in all likelihood, will have shed the blood of innocent individuals constitutes the gravest kind of illegality possible. No other stable nation in the world gives terrorists the impression that they can kill as many citizens as they like and still be granted a reprieve once they surrender; without being put on trial or being held accountable for their actions. By way of illustration, the Patriot Act of the United States of America enhanced the penalties for those who perform or support terrorist operations, both within the country and outside of it. A law that not only allows for the prosecution of terrorists but also allows for the revocation of citizenship for people participating in terrorist acts has been passed in the United Kingdom. The Netherlands has also announced that the sentence for an offense committed with the intent to commit terrorism will be heavier than the sentence for the basic offense. Not only does this rule apply to those who actually carry out attacks, but it also applies to those who are intending to carry out assaults. Italy has increased the severity of the punishments for terrorism perpetrators.

 

Modus Operandi

Terrorist insurgency in Nigeria needs to be put down by the government and the military. Terrorist leaders should be targeted in "kill or capture" operations, with any survivors facing public prosecution. Those on the periphery should also face consequences for their actions before being considered for de-radicalization. The governors, traditional authorities, and religious leaders of the states in the North should abolish the Sharia law penalties and devote themselves to educating their people instead. All states should prioritize providing social services and rural development initiatives to increase production and employment and decrease radicalization. The Child Rights Act should also be completely enacted and implemented. Terrorists should not be released by the Nigerian government until a full assessment and punishment has been  made.

 

Notes

Anzalone, C. (2018). Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics. American Journal of Islam and Society, 35(3), 98–103.

Human Rights Watch. (2022, November 2). Nigeria: Displacement Camp Closures Worsen Suffering. Retrieved from HRW Press Release: https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/02/those-who-returned-are-suffering/impact-camp-shutdowns-people-displaced-boko#:~:text=As%20of%20July%202022%2C%20the,Cameroon%2C%20Chad%2C%20and%20Niger.

Nwannekanma, B. (2023, January 9). HURIWA Condemns Planned Rehabilitation of 613 Deradicalised Terrorists. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://guardian.ng/news/huriwa-condemns-planned-rehabilitation-of-613-deradicalised-terrorists/

Punch Editorial Board. (2023, April 4). Revisiting the Faulty ‘Repentant Terrorists’ Narrative . Retrieved from Punch Newspaper: https://punchng.com/revisiting-the-faulty-repentant-terrorists-narrative/

Ugwueze, M. I., Ngwu, E. C., & Onuoha, F. C. (2022). Operation Safe Corridor Programme and Reintegration of Ex-Boko Haram Fighters in Nigeria. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 57(6), 1229–1248.

UNICEF. (2022, June 30). Nigeria Humanitarian Situation Report. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/media/126276/file/Nigeria%20Humanitarian%20Situation%20Report%20No.%202,%2030%20June%202022.pdf

US Department of Justice. (2023). Highlights of the USA PATRIOT Act. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm