UPDATED: Senate mulls agency for repentant insurgents

Thu, Feb 20, 2020
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Politics

THE Senate on Thursday commenced moves to establish an agency for the de-radicalization of repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

The move followed the first reading of a Bill titled: “National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De-radicalization and Integration of repentant insurgents in Nigeria (Est, etc) Bill, 2020” by the Senate.

The Bill was sponsored by a former Governor of Yobe state, Senator Ibrahim Geidam, representing Yobe East Senatorial District.

The main aim of the proposed agency according to a copy of the Bill’s objectives, is to among others:

“Provide avenue for rehabilitating, de-radicalizing, educating and reintegrating the defectors, repentant and detained members of the insurgent group Boko Haram to make therh useful members of the society.

“Provide avenue for reconciliation and promote national security.

“Provide an-open-door and encouragement for other members of the group who are still engaged in the insurgency to abandon the group especially in the face of the military pressure.”

Other objectives include to give the government an opportunity to derive insider-information about the insurgence group for greater understanding of the group and its inner workings.

It is also to help gain greater understanding of the insurgents to enable govermnent to address the immediate concerns of violence and study the needs of de-radicalization effort to improve the process of de-radicalization.

Besides, the agency according to the Bill, “is to help disintegrate the violent and poisonous ideology that the group spreads as the program will enable some convicted or suspected terrorists to express remorse over their actions, repent and recant their Violent ideology and re-enter mainstream politics, religion and society.”

Nation

– Feb 20, 2020 @ 19:25 GMT |

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