Borno Indigene Alleges Repentant Boko Haram Members Receive N3m Payoff, N50,000 Monthly Salary

A resident of Borno State, Enoch Yohanna, has come forward with allegations that the Nigerian government is providing financial compensation to rehabilitated Boko Haram insurgents. According to Yohanna, who spoke at a public event, the government's initiative, Operation Safe Corridor, is not only rehabilitating former insurgents but also providing them with a substantial payoff of up to ₦3 million and a monthly salary of ₦50,000. Yohanna expressed his deep-seated pain and frustration, stating that the same individuals responsible for the death of his father and the abduction of numerous others are being rewarded with taxpayer money. The Operation Safe Corridor programme, launched in 2016 by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, aims to provide a non-violent exit strategy for 'low-risk' and 'repentant' combatants through a structured framework of deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration. However, Yohanna claims that the process involves classifying the former insurgents based on the number of people they have killed, with those who have killed more being given preferential treatment. He further alleged that some of these individuals are being provided with guns as civilian JTF members and are even being exported to Algeria for illegal gold mining, with the government footing the bill for their treatment if they sustain injuries. Yohanna's revelations have sparked outrage, with many questioning the government's approach to rehabilitating former insurgents and the use of public funds to compensate them. As Yohanna so eloquently put it, 'My pain is that the assailants who killed my father and carried out mass abductions are being paid with taxpayers' money.' The controversy surrounding Operation Safe Corridor has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the programme and the potential consequences of rewarding former insurgents with financial compensation and employment opportunities.