Nigerian soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East have expressed concerns over an alleged directive requiring them to work alongside former Boko Haram members who were recently reintegrated into society under the Borno State Government’s deradicalisation programme.

Military personnel who spoke on condition of anonymity said the development has generated unease among troops deployed across parts of the state, with fears that the arrangement could expose military operations to intelligence leaks and compromise ongoing efforts against insurgent groups.

According to the soldiers, some former Boko Haram fighters who publicly renounced violence and pledged allegiance to the Nigerian state during recent reintegration exercises have been attached to local security groups supporting military operations in the state.

The personnel alleged that the move forms part of efforts by the Borno State Government to demonstrate the effectiveness of its rehabilitation and reintegration initiative, which has faced criticism from victims of insurgency, members of the public and some security operatives.

The soldiers, however, maintained that many troops remain sceptical about the sincerity of some former insurgents despite their participation in rehabilitation programmes.

Also, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) will never admit repentant terrorists into its fold, according to the Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police (DIG), Isyaku Mohammed.

Disclosing this yesterday in Ilorin at a stakeholder meeting with officers and men of the Kwara State Police Command, the traditional institution, religious heads, and transport unions, among others, Mohammed also enjoined stakeholders not to recommend that repented criminals join security agencies.

He further urged community heads, religious leaders and security chiefs not to sign their letter of recommendation, but to simply identify and expose criminals so that they are not allowed into the system.

He explained that traditional rulers and DPOs do sign for such people and are unlikely to recommend anyone who has been engaged in criminality, even if repentant. The police chief noted that the military accepted deradicalised Boko Haram members, reoriented and sent them back into society.

Recalling an experience, he narrated how a Yobe community rejected deradicalised people, asking the military to take them to another community where they are not known. He added that the police can only protect their own territory and ensure that such people, whom he described as repentant criminals, as well as other “bad boys,” do not find their way into the force.

Against this background, he urged stakeholders, community heads, and others not to sign on their behalf, but rather to identify and expose them.

Meanwhile, Mohammed, the coordinating officer for the North Central zone, hinted that a joint border patrol would be inaugurated to curb crime in Kwara State.

He explained that the IGP had directed all DIGs to go round states within their zones and interact with stakeholders to conduct on-the-spot assessments and proffer solutions to the security situation, as well as to the challenges facing the police command and its officers.