Path to Redemption: Nigeria’s Reintegration Summit Seeks Lasting Peace Solutions

Published By Aisha Rabo On Feb 19, 2025

Path to Redemption: Nigeria’s Reintegration Summit Seeks Lasting Peace Solutions

By Ayshatu S. Rabo

In a pivotal gathering aimed at fostering national healing, security stakeholders, state representatives, and international partners convened on 18 February 2025 to finalise plans for the transfer and reintegration of 825 rehabilitated former insurgents into their communities.

Brigadier General Y Ali, Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), hailed the initiative as a testament to Nigeria’s “whole-of-government approach” in combating extremism, even as challenges loom over community acceptance and sustainable resettlement.

The meeting drew officials from 26 state governments, including Borno, Adamawa, and Zamfara—epicentres of insurgency—alongside federal bodies such as the Office of the National Security Adviser, Ministries of Justice, Women Affairs, and Humanitarian Affairs. Security agencies, including the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Department of State Services (DSS), and Nigeria Police Force, were also present. International partners like UNICEF, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) lent expertise to the dialogue.

Since its launch in 2016, OPSC, a deradicalisation programme underpinned by Nigerian constitutional and international human rights laws, has processed 2,190 individuals—2,163 Nigerians and 27 foreigners from Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Brig Gen Ali reported that 825 clients entered the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DRR) camp between July and November 2024, including 14 nationals from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Twenty-two others were referred to Maiduguri’s Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital for specialised care.

The summit, directed by Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa (represented by Air Vice Marshal Sayo Olatunde), focused on:

Roles Clarification: Assigning state governments and MDAs specific responsibilities in the reintegration process.

Resettlement Packages: Identifying affordable housing, vocational training, and startup kits, with agencies like the North East Development Commission (NEDC) flagged for logistical support.

Community Engagement: Designing sensitisation programmes to ease societal acceptance, including pre-transfer visits by community leaders to DRR camps.

Graduation Plans: Finalising a March 2025 ceremony for clients concluding their 16-month rehabilitation.

While Brig Gen Ali praised the NEDC and Humanitarian Affairs Ministry for “logistical interventions,” questions linger over funding gaps and lingering stigma in communities. A representative from Borno State emphasised the need for “continuous psycho-social support,” citing instances of returnees facing exclusion.

OPSC’s model, bolstered by workshops with global partners, has attracted academic interest as a case study in post-conflict recovery. Yet, critics argue the programme’s scalability remains untested amid rising insecurity in the Northwest.

Brig Gen Ali commended the CDS, implementation partners, and OPSC staff for their “doggedness,” urging stakeholders to “prioritise compassion without compromising security.” The summit concluded with a call for unity, as AVM Olatunde reiterated the Armed Forces’ commitment to “non-kinetic solutions” in restoring peace.

State teams are expected to submit reintegration blueprints by 1 March 2025, with OPSC monitoring progress for six months post-transfer. For now, the DRR camp’s gates remain a symbol of cautious hope—a bridge between repentance and redemption, tempered by Nigeria’s complex security realities.

Path to Redemption: Nigeria’s Reintegration Summit Seeks Lasting Peace Solutions