UPDATE: Several Boko Haram Fighters Escape with Rifles, Motorcycles

Thirteen ex-fighters from the Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) have escaped with rifles and motorcycles supplied to them by the Borno State government. The former insurgents had been recruited to assist military operatives in combating the insurgency in the region.

These fighters are part of thousands who surrendered last year, following Governor Babagana Zulum’s revelation that over 160,000 Boko Haram members and their families had turned themselves in amid intense military pressure.

The defectors are being handled under the Borno Model, an amnesty initiative focusing on deradicalisation, rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement of low-risk individuals associated with the insurgent group. Sources disclosed that nearly 6,000 combatants are awaiting “transitional justice” under this framework, with some already co-opted to help military forces infiltrate terrorist hideouts.

These “repentant” fighters, referred to as “hybrid forces,” have been instrumental in military operations, leveraging their knowledge of the insurgents’ territory. A defence journalist confirmed, “Their involvement has significantly helped the military,” particularly in recovering ammunition and leading raids on Boko Haram hideouts around the Timbuktu axis.

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