Widespread outrage has erupted across social media following the graduation of over 390 self-proclaimed repentant Boko Haram fighters from the Federal Government’s De-radicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DRR) program in Gombe State.
The ceremony, held on Thursday in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, has sparked a heated national debate, with Nigerians, particularly on platform X (formerly Twitter), expressing deep anger and disbelief. Many users condemned what they view as the government’s misplaced priorities focusing on reintegrating insurgents while victims of Boko Haram’s decade-long reign of terror remain neglected.
Critics argue that the program appears to offer amnesty and opportunity to perpetrators of terror while those they displaced, widowed, or orphaned are still waiting for justice, healing, and compensation. “We bury our dead, live in IDP camps, and they graduate terrorists with smiles,” one social media user lamented.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who presided over the graduation, defended the initiative. He stated that the ex-combatants arrived at the camp in July 2024 and had since undergone months of psychological rehabilitation and vocational training. “They have been adequately reformed and are now ready to be reintegrated into their various communities,” he said.
However, the assurances have done little to calm public sentiment. Nigerians continue to demand a shift toward a victim-centered approach to justice and national healing. Questions have been raised about how these former fighters are verified as “repentant” and whether justice is being sacrificed in the name of peace.
As the backlash grows, so too does the call for transparency, accountability, and meaningful support for the countless victims still grappling with the devastating aftermath of insurgency.
Read some netizens’ reactions below:
@malcolm: I dare ask, what about their victims? What about the orphans , widows, widowers, the traumatized, brutalized, dehumanized, raped , kidnapped, extorted, those who have their properties destroyed , lost their land , dispersed to IDP camps, and are now refugees? Why the discrimination?
@stickrule: If they explain Nigeria to you. You will cry
@okeyjames: You can have a random conversation with someone in public in Nigeria, and you won’t know the person is an ex-Boko Haram member. Pathetic.
@davidoghe: The soldier’s mental state for me, so you will definitely be working on an ex Boko Haram who killed your colleagues and watch them go back to society as if your de@d colleagues are nothing. You could be watching a match at a viewing center with an ex-Boko Haram member that k!lled you relative in army. And the government feels South and Southeast people are stupid for refusing to join the army. Kuku recruit the ex-Boko Haram nah make everywhere balanced.
Souce: GWG
