By ALO 360 Editorial Board
The recent news that the federal government is about to reintegrate 744 former Boko Haram fighters who have completed their deradicalisation programme and are ready to return to society raises a fundamental question about justice. The FG called this a strategy for peace. It may well be. But something more expedient is missing, and that is justice.
The programme, known as Operation Safe Corridor, has been in place since 2015. It offers counselling, vocational training, and what officials describe as “reorientation”. The idea is simple: persuade fighters to drop their weapons and return to civilian life. On the surface, it is not a bad idea. Many countries dealing with insurgency have used similar approaches. But in Nigeria’s case, the gap between policy and reality is too wide to ignore.
More than a decade of insurgency has left thousands dead, communities destroyed, and millions displaced. In many parts of the north-east, people are still living in camps, unable to return home. Families have lost breadwinners. Children have grown up without parents. Entire villages have disappeared.
Against this backdrop, the decision to reintegrate hundreds of former fighters raises a basic question: where is accountability?
The government insists the programme is not an amnesty. Yet, for many Nigerians, that distinction is hard to see. If individuals who took part in violence return to society without facing any form of justice, what message does that send?
It tells victims to move on without closure. It tells communities to accept without questioning. It tells others who may consider taking up arms that the consequences can be negotiated later.
That is a dangerous signal. The problem is not reintegration in itself. The problem is how it is being done.
There is little public information on who among these 744 individuals has been investigated. There is no clarity on whether any of them have faced prosecution. The criteria used to determine who is “repentant” remain vague. Even more worrying, there is no visible framework for monitoring them once they return to their communities.
The government says success depends on community acceptance. But acceptance cannot be assumed. It must be earned.
A 2021 study published in the Sage Journal on Operation Safe Corridor warned about this exact issue. The researchers found that the programme largely ignored the concerns of local communities. They concluded that while the government may succeed in graduating ex-combatants, it risks failing at actual reintegration if communities are not carried along.
That warning is playing out in real time. Reintegration is not just about the former fighters. It is about the people they are returning to. If communities feel unsafe or unheard, the policy will deepen mistrust rather than build peace.
There is also a broader security concern. Terrorism is not simply a social problem that can be solved with training and counselling. It is organised violence. It is driven by ideology, structure, and, in many cases, long-standing grievances. Treating it lightly risks weakening the state’s response.
This is where the contradiction becomes clear. On one hand, the government says it is fighting a war against terror. On the other hand, it is returning former fighters to society without a transparent system of justice or safeguards.
None of this suggests that reintegration should be abandoned. Some fighters were coerced. Some may genuinely want to change. Ignoring that reality would also be a mistake.
But reintegration must follow a process that is credible.
There must be an investigation. There must be accountability where crimes have been committed. Communities must be consulted, not just informed. Monitoring systems must be in place. Victims must be acknowledged and supported.
Without these steps, the policy risks doing more harm than good.
Nigeria cannot afford shortcuts in a conflict that has already cost so much. Peace built without justice is fragile. And reintegration without accountability is not reconciliation. It is injustice.