Over 700 repentant Boko Haram insurgents surrender to Nigerian military

The Director of Defence Information, Rabe Abubakar, has said that more 700 repentant Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East have surrendered to the military.

Mr. Abubakar, a brigadier general, said this when he paid a courtesy call on the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Bayo Onanuga, in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, a camp will be opened where the repentant insurgents will be kept “before the government decides on what to do with them”.

The defence spokesman said the media had a very important role to play in mitigating the crisis befalling the country.

He, therefore, called for cooperation between the media and the military in mobilising and informing the citizenry about the crisis.

“We have come to understand that the military cannot do it all alone.

“It must enter into collaborative efforts and synergy in certain operations with the media, which we believe will go a long way to not just project our activities or operations, but at the same time play a role which nobody can do apart from you.

“Mobilising the citizens, informing them about what is happening and equally sensitizing them.

“The media has a very important role in mitigating the crisis that is befalling our nation.

“We have many of the Boko Haram members, who surrendered as a result of our operations in Sambisa.

“We have over 700 now and very soon we will open the camp in the North-East where we will be keeping them before the government decides on what to do with them.’’

Mr. Abubakar was accompanied on the visit by senior officers of the Directorate of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters.


(NAN)