8,000 Boko Haram fighters, family members surrendered in three months – Nigeria military

The Nigerian military said 8,000 Boko Haram commanders, fighters, and their family members have surrendered since June 2021.

Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army Brig General Abdulwahab Eyitayo made the disclosure in his remarks during the demonstration of Legion MRAP and Counter Ambush Drill organized by the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri on Tuesday.

“The genuineness of their intention to surrender are not in doubt considering that they turned in their families as well. There was no way they could have come out with their families if the intention was suspect,” Eyitayo said.

He stated that the military will not leave anything to chance as there will be proper profiling of those who surrendered is being conducted to separate them based on their extent of involvement in the killings and destructions that took place in the region.

Eyitayo said there is still time for the “recalcitrant ones to surrender but the opportunity will soon be closed after which the military will embark on full onslaught to clear them.”

He attributed the massive surrendering of the terrorists to the intensive air and ground bombardment of their enclaves and blocking of food and other logistics to their camps by the troops.

The GOC maintained that what the Army is doing in accepting the surrender of the fighters is in line with extant dictates of law of armed conflicts and Geneva Conventions which Nigeria is a signatory to.

“We are not doing what we are doing in order to pamper the surrendered fighters; far from it. We are known for our ruggedness and doggedness; 7 Division is the fighting Division of the Nigerian Army and we are not relenting,” Eyitayo said.