The Defence Headquarters has inaugurated Operation Safe Corridor in Nigeria’s North-West region, establishing its headquarters in Tsafe, Zamfara State.
This initiative aims to enhance security by providing a structured framework for the rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant terrorists who voluntarily surrender their arms.
At the official handover ceremony of the operational headquarters, Governor Dauda Lawal reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting security measures against criminal activities.
Operation Safe Corridor, a specialised military programme, focuses on five critical components: Disarmament, Demobilization, De-radicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration. It has been successfully implemented in the North-East to address Boko Haram defections and is now being extended to North-West states, including Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kaduna, to tackle ongoing security challenges.
General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, represented by Major General Emeka Onumajuru, emphasized the operation’s importance in curbing terrorism and banditry through effective rehabilitation.
Additionally, Amb Mairo Abbas, representing National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, urged state governments to establish centres for the families of surrendering insurgents to facilitate de-radicalization and rehabilitation.
He said, “As we commence the implementation of this programme in the camp, we also need to take cognisance of wives and the children of those repentant bandits.
“The states would need to have a Holding Centre where the women affairs Ministry could be empowered to also give them some sort of de-radicalization and rehabilitation because having lived with the fighters, they also have some kind of ideas of radicalisation of criminal tendencies within them.
“So, it is for us to try as much as possible to also de-radicalize them and rehabilitate them so that they become responsible citizens of this country once more.”
In his keynote address, Governor Lawal acknowledged the potential benefits of Operation Safe Corridor and maintained that his administration would not engage in any form of dialogue or negotiation with terrorist groups.
However, he emphasised that his government is open to accepting any bandit willing to surrender their arms unconditionally.
The establishment of Operation Safe Corridor in the North-West is expected to complement ongoing military operations aimed at restoring peace and stability in the region.
With the headquarters now in Zamfara State, security stakeholders are hopeful that the programme will help reduce violence and reintegrate ex-fighters who are ready to abandon criminality.