Brigadier General Yusuf Ali, Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), has dismissed viral claims suggesting that deradicalized terrorists and bandits are being enlisted into the Nigerian Armed Forces.
General Ali made the clarification on Wednesday during a one-day media dialogue with the leadership of OSC as organized by the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD in Abuja.
He stated that the report of recruiting repented insurgents into the military is “entirely false and has no basis”.
According to General Ali, the “Nigerian security apparatus has a structured process of screening those that are to be recruited into the military”.
The OSC Coordinator also clarified repentant terrorists, who are classified as high-risk are not reintegrated into the society.
He said, “First and foremost, they must be cleared by the judiciary.
“Aside from the judiciary, security agencies conduct their screenings before they are classified as either low-risk or high-risk individuals”.
General Ali further stated that once they are “classified as high risk, they face the normal criminal justice system, tried and sentenced accordingly.
“There is no military, paramilitary or any security agency recruiting former fighters or surrendered terrorists into the system.
“Recruitment processes are always published in the media. There is also the armed forces art that regulates the procedure for recruiting individuals into the military”.
Also speaking, CDD Director, Dr Dauda Garuba commended troops of the Nigerian military for their sacrifices in protecting lives and property.
He pointed out that with the effort of the military, the bombing of critical facilities in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT has stopped.
