10th August, 2021
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Modu Malaram, a former fighter of Boko Haram has explained why he other members of the terrorists groups surrendered to the troops of the Nigerian Army in Borno State.
According to PR Nigeria, Malaram from is among the former fighters of Boko Haram who surrendered to Nigerian troops in Konduga on Monday.
Malaram quoted the ‘repentant’ Boko Haram member as saying that some members were forced to join the terrorist group when they were teenagers and are therefore using the advantage of the disarray in leadership of the insurgent group to run away.
He said, “Wallahi, most of us were young or weak to fight the Boko Haram Commanders who picked us from our villages.
“All the while, we knew the group is evil, but could not fight or protest because we could have been killed. Those that attempted to flee were summarily executed in our presence.
“Even though I, my wife and my child have surrendered, I am not sure if the people in our village would trust us again.”
On what gave them the gut to come out and ‘publicly’ surrender, Malaram, said the division between the terrorists’ groups distracted their Commanders, and emboldened members like him to become ‘recalcitrant’.
Hence, summoning the courage to quit his membership of the sect.
“After the death of Shekau, there were infighting and divisions, which made some of us happy. And then, the aerial bombardments by the military were sustained which forced many of us to flee our forests’ camps. This is what made us to come out and surrender,” he added.
Malaram and 41 other persons made up of ex – fighters of Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP)surrendered on Monday.
According to PRNigeria the ‘repentant’ terrorists ‘publicly’ renounced their membership yesterday, at Konduga Local Government Area in Borno State.
They thereafter, turned in themselves to the Battalion Commanders and troops of Operation Hadin Kai.
According to a military intelligence operative, who craved anonymity, the former Boko Haram members, however did not surrender themselves together with their weapons.
“Among the 45 terrorists’ members who surrendered, 21 are from Garin Dinya and 24 from jaja kalwa villages,” he said.
Nigerian Army said on Monday that over 1,000 Boko Haram members and their families have surrendered to troops in the past week.
The ex-terror group members include the terror group’s chief bomb expert, known as Musa Adamu, aka Mala Musa Abuja, and his second-in-command, Usman Adamu, aka Abu Darda, surrendered to troops in Bama local government area of Borno State.
Army gave the breakdown of the former Boko Haram members now in its custody to include 335 terrorists, and members of their families, totaling 746 women and children.
The acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division and Commander Sector 1 Operation Hadin Kai, Brigadier General Abdulwahab Eyitayo, visited Headquarters 21 Special Armoured Brigade Bama on Saturday, August 7 to receive the former terrorists and their families.
Eyitayo said the ex-Boko Haram members will undergo some rehabilitation process at a government facility before reintegration into the larger society.