No fewer than 2,167 repentant insurgents have graduated from the Operation Safe Corridor’s (OPSC) Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme, organised by the Federal Government, an official has said.
Mr Audu Ayuba, the Assistant Director of Planning, Research and Strategy, National Orientation Agency (NOA), disclosed this on Friday at a capacity-building workshop for staff members of the agency.
The workshop was on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), and Disengagement, Disassociation, Reintegration and Reconciliation (DDRR) in Abuja.
Ayuba, who presented a paper titled, “Overview of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC)”, said that out of the 2,167 trainees, 2,140 were Nigerians and 27 foreigners from Cameroun, Chad and Niger.
The NOA director said that more of the clients had been accepted in their communities and the level of stigmatisation had reduced due to the strategic communication on DDRR, PCVE and OPSC carried out by the stakeholders.
Ayuba said that the clients were exposed to vocational training of their choice, which included barbing, carpentry, cosmetology, farming, leather works, tailoring, cap weaving/embroidery and welding.
According to him, farming is made compulsory to all the clients in addition to any trade of their choice.
In his remarks, the Director-General, NOA, Dr Garba Abari, said that OPSC was an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to encourage willing and repentant Boko Haram (BH) insurgents to surrender and embrace peace.
