A Borno State indigene has publicly accused the Nigerian government of compensating former Boko Haram fighters with millions of naira through a rehabilitation programme, intensifying a long-running debate over justice for survivors and victims’ families.
Enoch Yohanna, who lost his father to insurgent violence, made the allegations at a recent public event, directing his anger at what he described as the use of taxpayer funds to reward individuals responsible for killings and mass abductions in the northeast.
At the centre of his accusations is Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), a programme launched in 2016 under the Muhammadu Buhari administration to provide a non-violent exit route for low-risk and repentant combatants. The initiative operates through a Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DRR) framework designed to transition former fighters back into civilian life.
Yohanna alleged that rehabilitated insurgents receive one-off payments of up to three million naira alongside monthly salaries of 50,000 naira, with their classification and duration of processing tied to the nature of their past offences. He further claimed that some graduates of the programme are deployed as civilian members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) operating in states including Zamfara.
He also alleged that insurgents unable to reintegrate locally are sent abroad for economic activities and that those injured receive government-funded medical care on return.
The Nigerian government has not publicly responded to the specific claims made by Yohanna. The OSC has faced sustained criticism from victims’ groups since its inception, with opponents arguing that the programme prioritises reintegration over accountability and offers inadequate recognition of the suffering of communities devastated by the insurgency.
Yohanna’s remarks reflect a broader and growing frustration among northeast communities, where survivors say government resources directed at former combatants stand in painful contrast to the limited support available to those who lost family members, homes, and livelihoods to Boko Haram violence.
