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Some Boko Haram members are christians –Gen. Shafa, Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor

March 14, 2020
2 Min Read

Major General Bamidele Shafa is the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, saddled with the responsibility of deradicalisation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram members into the society. In this interview with MOLLY KILETE in Abuja, Gen.
Shafa defended the federal government’s policy of rehabilitating insurgents who voluntarily surrender their arms and renounce terrorism. He equally added that, against popular belief, some Christians are also members of the terror gang.

Many Nigerians see Operation Safe Corridor as political especially when the beneficiaries are people that had killed innocent citizens. How do you respond to that?
Let me quickly correct one impression, Operation Safe Corridor is not conferring amnesty on anybody. We need to get that correctly.

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Now I know the feelings out there; people who have committed heinous crimes, people who have killed people, people who have destroyed government properties and what have you. But you see, we need to understand that not all members of Boko Haram or ISWAP as the case may be are hardened, not all of them are core ideologists of these groups.
A number of them, in fact a large number of the foot soldiers of these groups are people who were conscripted, they are people who were coerced against their will.

There are people who joined these groups for the sake of their personal survival and the survival of their parents and their siblings. And these groups of people are waiting for opportunities; they are waiting for any avenue for them to come out. And that is exactly what Operation Safe Corridor has provided for them.

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So I understand the feelings of Nigerians. But you see we need to be ingenious in dealing with this menace that has been with us since 2003. And that is the reason why the president and commander in chief has set up this programme to bring out these people who actually formed the bulk of Boko Haram. And like I have said in different fora, since we started this programme, a large number of foot soldiers of Boko Haram, ISWAP have actually come out to embrace the programme, embrace peace and we are doing well with them.