Recipe for rehabilitation, reintegration of repentant B/Haram insurgents

The bill on the education, deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram insurgents sponsored by the Senator representing Yobe East Senatorial District, (Dr) Ibrahim Gaidam has no doubt elicited public debate. Despite the considerable attention deradicalization policies have received, they are still not fully understood and remain controversial in this part of the World. […]

The bill on the education, deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram insurgents sponsored by the Senator representing Yobe East Senatorial District, (Dr) Ibrahim Gaidam has no doubt elicited public debate.

Despite the considerable attention deradicalization policies have received, they are still not fully understood and remain controversial in this part of the World. There is little awareness about the purpose, design, implementation and practice of these policies, which has further compounded the suspicion about the program.

Deradicalization refers to the process of breaking with radical belief systems as well as the violent behaviours associated with them. Deradicalization is a carefully designed program aimed at deprogramming repentant Boko Haram towards changing their beliefs and behaviours until they no longer pose a threat to the state.

The purpose of deradicalization policies and measures are to undermine appeal to violence and limit the number of potential recruits by terrorist organizations and groups. It is a preventive counter-terrorism measure meant to have those with extreme and violent religious or political ideologies such as the Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al Shabab in Somalia to abandon their course and adopt more moderate and nonviolent views in line with accepted societal norms

Today, the concept of deradicalization has become a global practice. Many countries with the background of conflict have United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping sponsored programs, which address more traditional models of conflict, with a resolution framework that formally assists individuals who wish to come out of violence called Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).

There are a substantial number of deradicalized persons interacting in various contexts and programs in many spheres of life. Many of the prominent deradicalized individuals have started their Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO). They are either actively supporting the growth of existing programs or have worked with Western intelligence agencies in the targeting of violent extremists.

In Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency, which has continued to inflict massive casualties on innocent citizens with extreme brutality has been fractured into two autonomous groups resulting in the internal rivalry. The break in the ranks of the insurgency and the military pressure has led to an array of insurgents surrendering to federal forces in their numbers. In Borno state, for instance, over 500 repentant Boko Haram have been handed over to the governor of the state, and about 608 others are currently undergoing rehabilitation at the DDR camp in Gombe State.

On February 26, 2020, twenty-five former Boko Haram members and their wives who recently laid down their arms and surrendered to troops in the Niger Republic have arrived Maiduguri the Borno State capital. They were brought in a military aircraft in the company of soldiers led by a Major General who is the coordinator of the Federal Government operation safe corridor program.

In recent months, many insurgents see more incentive to defect from the group, although the process poses serious risks. In early July 2015, for example, eleven members who attempted to defect were murdered by Boko Haram to instill discipline and fear among the members of the terror group. These murders, which are not uncommon, act as a disincentive that the Nigerian government must counter in the process of encouraging defections.

There is no doubt that many members of the insurgents’ group have defected and many more are willing to repent given a window of opportunity. This fact is confirmed by many organizations, including NGO’s that have direct and unalloyed access to the Boko Haram. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt the non-military approach to the war on insurgency to accommodate these defectors.

The recent steps taken by the government to rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram terrorists through the operation safe heaven is commendable. However, there is a need for a more strategic and comprehensive approach that will carry along the community and religious leaders. The strategy is to allay the fears in the minds of the society regarding the program. It is also meant to entice those members of the group who, after realizing the futility of the violence, have eventually decided to choose the path of peace.

The National Agency for the Education, Deradicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration, which the bill seeks to establish, shall be charged with the responsibility of the planning, designing and organizing specialized programs. These programs can be mechanisms for disengagement from terrorist’s ideology and to invalidate the recourse to violence.

These specialized programs are not only necessary but promising avenues for bringing about successful rehabilitation.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam has clarified that deradicalization and rehabilitation processes for the former members of Boko Haram will vary on a case-by-case basis. Senator Gaidam explained that those who have voluntarily laid down their arms and defected from Boko Haram are provided with psychological therapy and given the tools for education, deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration into the society. In contrast, those who have been captured active in battlefields will be required to participate in the criminal justice process in addition to the psychological therapy provided.

The approach to deradicalization varies according to immediate needs, circumstances, social and religious and cultural background. Different countries approach repentant defectors and deradicalization through various processes with varying degrees of success while ensuring the safety of the public.

Specifically, the specialized programs envisaged include: a religious rehabilitation program needed for deradicalization and should be  implemented through authorized Islamic clerics and scholars; then the psychological component employs psychologists to engage detainees and further to examine the rationale behind these detainees’ decisions to use extremism.

In the social rehabilitation program, family members are engaged in incentives like supporting the repentant detainees’ education to discourage their dependence on terrorist institutions, then lastly vocational rehabilitation gives the detainees opportunities to learn various trade industries, including barbering, building maintenance, carpentry, electrical trades, painting, plumbing, food service/culinary arts, horticulture, custodial maintenance, upholstery, auto detailing, masonry, welding, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, tailoring, clay shaping, pottery and the like.

Vocational training or career technical education programs for repentant insurgents are designed to teach inmates about general employment skills or skills needed for specific jobs and industries.

In conclusion, it is worthy of note that each country has approached the deradicalization process in a different way. However, success depends on the availability of adequate funding, reform within the facility structure, use of knowledgeable and well-respected Islamic clerics, incorporation of cultural norms, and follow through with after-care programs

 

Kuwata Goni is a Senior Legislative Aide to Senator Dr Ibrahim Gaidam.

Yobe East Senatorial District