The seventh phase of Niger’s deradicalisation programme has led to the reintegration of 91 former Boko Haram members, including 33 children, following their stay at the Goudoumaria rehabilitation camp.
According to the statement from the Ministry of the Interior, the 91 individuals, comprising 40 men, 18 women, and 33 children have officially left the Goudoumaria reintegration centre in the southeastern Diffa region on Tuesday.
This marks the seventh group of participants in the country’s Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme.
During a ceremony presided over by the Governor of Diffa, Major General Mahamadou Ibrahim Bagadoma, the former members took the oath on the Quran, pledging to renounce violence and permanently abandon Boko Haram and other extremist groups.
Launched by the Nigerien government as part of its counterterrorism strategy, the DDR programme focuses on deradicalisation and social reintegration as essential complements to the ongoing military operations in the Lake Chad Basin, where Boko Haram remains active.
The event, held in both Goudoumaria and Diffa town, included the distribution of reintegration kits designed to help the beneficiaries achieve self-sufficiency and support their socio-economic reinsertion.
The officials present included the National Coordinator for Stabilization and Reintegration Programmes and the Public Prosecutor at the Niamey High Court who urged the former combatants to fully honour the commitments they made under oath.
Before their release, the participants received psychological counseling and vocational training in various fields to facilitate sustainable reintegration into the Nigerien society.
AC/sf/lb/gik/APA