Outrage As 390 Repentant Boko Haram Killers Re-enter Society

Nigerians on social media have expressed outrage following the graduation of over 390 repentant Boko Haram members from the Federal Government’s De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme in Gombe State.

The event, which took place on Thursday in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, has sparked fierce criticism online, especially on platform X (formerly Twitter), where netizens questioned the morality of reintegrating supposedly repentant Boko Haram fighters into society while thousands of their victims remain unaccounted for or live in grief and hardship.

Many critics argue that the programme appears to reward perpetrators of terror while ignoring the trauma and losses suffered by families who lost loved ones during the Boko Haram insurgency. Some noted that many women have been widowed and children orphaned by the violence, with no hope of justice or compensation.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who presided over the graduation, said the ex-combatants arrived at the camp in July 2024 and had undergone months of psychological rebuilding and skill acquisition aimed at transforming them into responsible citizens.

“They have been adequately reformed and are now ready to be reintegrated into their various communities,” he stated of the allegedly repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

Despite these assurances, the public backlash has remained intense, with many Nigerians demanding a more victim-focused approach and questioning whether justice and accountability have been abandoned in favour of appeasement.

Read some netizens’ reactions below;

@malcolm: I dare ask, what about their victims ? What about the orphans , widows, widowers , the traumatized, brutalised , dehumanised , raped , kidnapped , extorted, those who have their properties destroyed , lost their land , dispersed to IDP camps and are now refugees ? Why the discrimination ?

@stickrule: If they explain Nigeria to you. You will cry

@okeyjames: You can be having a random conversation with someone in public in Nigeria, you won’t know the person is an ex-Boko Haram member. Pathetic.

@davidoghe: The soldiers mental state for me, so you will definitely be working on an ex Boko Haram who k!lled your colleagues and watch them go back to the society as if your de@d colleagues are nothing. You could be watching a match at a viewing center with an ex Boko Haram that k!lled you relative in army. And the government feel south south and south east people are stupid for refusing to join the army. Kuku recruit the ex Boko Haram nah make everywhere balance.

@samwelsg: And a common criminal is languishing in prison.
There is reward for terrorism in islam.
Send Us A Press Statement Advertise With Us Contact Us

 And For More Nigerian News Visit GWG.NG