The Yobe State Government has claimed that members of the Boko Haram who are repentant and were pardoned have helped combat insurgency in the state, News About Nigeria reports.
The Special Adviser on Security to Gov. Mai Mala Buni, Retired Brig.-Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam, stated this while speaking to newsmen in Damaturu, the state capital.
He noted that counterinsurgency operations in the state have been largely successful as a result of the input and contributions of these repentant Boko Haram members, whom he referred to as the hybrid force.
He stated this while reacting to concerns raised by some residents over the involvement of repentant insurgents in security operations in Geidam town.
He assured the people that the government knows and is confident in what it is doing, maintaining that no government will take decisions that will put the state in jeopardy.
He noted that these hybrid forces assist the government with information, including information about insurgents, collaborators, and suppliers, adding that all this is done through their informants in the group.
“There is no government that will take any decision that is to the detriment of its people. The government is committed to ending insurgencies so that we can have peace.
“We have these repentant Boko Haram insurgents called ‘hybrid force’ that have been assisting security agencies in conducting operations in Damaturu, Goniri, and Buni Yadi.
“First, they assist with information about insurgents through their sources that are still with Boko Haram and ISWAP.
“Secondly, they assist with information about Boko Haram and ISWAP collaborators and suppliers,” he stated.
The SA noted that the said repentant Boko Haram operatives were deployed to Geidam to assist in containing the infiltration of terrorists and their collaborators in the commercial town, stating that in Geidam, there are people engaging in business activities on behalf of Boko Haram, including those that supply food, fuel, and other essentials to the insurgents.
He, therefore, called on residents of Geidam to cooperate with security agents in dislodging terrorists and blocking their supply routes.
