Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja insists deradicalisation remains a key security strategy, says ex-insurgents must be held accountable but not written off.

The Chief of Defence Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, has strongly defended the Federal Government’s controversial deradicalisation and reintegration policy for repentant Boko Haram fighters, arguing that rehabilitation remains a necessary component of Nigeria’s broader security strategy.

Speaking on the rationale behind the programme, Onoja stressed that despite the gravity of their crimes, Boko Haram members are still Nigerian citizens and cannot be treated as permanently beyond redemption.

“At the end of the day, Boko Haram fighters are still Nigerians,” he said. “They may have erred, and they will definitely account for whatever they have done, but their nationality does not change.”

Onoja questioned calls for the outright rejection of rehabilitation efforts, asking whether the state should abandon reform options even when the capacity to deradicalise and reintegrate former insurgents exists.

“Are we saying that because they are Nigerians, and because of what they have done, if we have the ability to rehabilitate them, we should not?” he asked.

According to him, this thinking led to the establishment of Operation Safe Corridor, a deradicalisation initiative developed by Defence Headquarters and later adopted by the Federal Government in collaboration with the Borno State Government under what is now referred to as the “Borno model.”

Responding to widespread public criticism, Onoja assured Nigerians that authorities are not ignoring concerns about the programme’s effectiveness and moral implications. He revealed that a comprehensive review is underway.

“We take your observations seriously,” he said. “The review will be done, and you will hear our new operational directives for Operation Safe Corridor.”

His comments come amid sustained national debate, with many Nigerians questioning whether rehabilitating former insurgents delivers justice to victims or risks undermining accountability in the fight against terrorism.