Abuja: In many communities across Nigeria’s North-East, villages once emptied by violence are slowly rebuilding; markets have reopened in some areas, and families displaced for years are returning home. In these societies, the sound of gunfire is fading, but peace remains obscure. Along with rebuilding, there is the challenging process of reintegrating and coexisting with individuals who were previously part of insurgent groups or controlled areas. For residents across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States, the reintegration of former insurgents is not an abstract policy debate; it is deeply personal, emotional, and often uneasy. A traditional leader in Borno, who requested anonymity, said communities continued to carry the scars of conflict even as they were being asked to support reconciliation.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the tension between hope and anxiety lies at the heart of Operation Safe Corridor. This Federal Government initiative focuses on the deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of low-risk former insurgents who surrender voluntarily. As Nigeria continues to confront the long-term consequences of insurgency, policymakers have increasingly adopted non-kinetic strategies alongside military operations to address the drivers of violent extremism. Supporters describe it as a pragmatic peace-building intervention that offers a pathway out of violence and helps weaken extremist networks from within.
Agha Omaka, Programmes Officer, Operation Safe Corridor, said the programme began with voluntary surrender, which was central to its legal and operational framework. He explained that those who surrendered underwent screening and profiling by military and civilian intelligence agencies. The legal process was overseen by the Federal Ministry of Justice, which determined eligibility and whether an individual should instead face prosecution or other security procedures. Omaka said those admitted were then moved into a structured rehabilitation phase that included psychosocial support, counselling, vocational training, religious reorientation and behavioural assessment.
Mr Dengiyefa Angalapu, Research Analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa), said misinformation had shaped public perceptions of the initiative. According to him, one common misconception is that the military is recruiting ex-combatants into the Nigerian Army; that is virtually impossible considering the layers of recruitment screening and community attestation required. Angalapu noted that Operation Safe Corridor comprised multiple ministries, departments and agencies, each with distinct responsibilities ranging from rehabilitation and security screening to humanitarian support and public sensitisation.
In many affected communities, residents remember relatives killed, children abducted, farms abandoned and years spent in displacement camps. Experts argue that reintegration must be matched by a stronger peace-building architecture. The Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr Joseph Ochogwu, said programmes like Operation Safe Corridor reflected an important recognition that force alone could not solve insurgency. He described the initiative as commendable but argued that reconciliation must be treated as a core pillar rather than an afterthought.
A security analyst, Brig.-Gen. Yusuf Ali, said non-kinetic approaches were strategically valuable because insurgency is sustained by more than battlefield strength. He said one of the programme’s key achievements was creating a credible pathway for surrender. He, however, cautioned that deradicalisation inside a facility was only one stage of a longer journey. Analysts say the true measure of Operation Safe Corridor begins after participants leave camp. Programme officials say monitoring continues after reintegration through collaboration involving security agencies, community leaders and partners.
Questions also remain over long-term recidivism rates. A research by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa) provides insights. The research indicates than more than 85 per cent of lower-level Boko Haram foot soldiers studied were forcibly conscripted, abducted or otherwise drawn into insurgent structures under coercive conditions, complicating assumptions that all returnees were hardened ideological actors. Analysts say the real question is not whether deradicalisation alone can deliver lasting peace: it is whether Nigeria can build the broader justice, trust, opportunity, and reconciliation systems without which no peace can endure.