Nigeria bets on deradicalization program in North West

The Nigerian government said it is expanding its deradicalization program Operation Safe Corridor to the country's North West to tackle rising insecurity in the region. In Nigeria, the North West is a geopolitical zone comprising of the following states: Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. 

The North West has been locked in a decade-old conflict as criminal gangs, otherwise referred to as bandits, raid villages and run a large kidnap-for-ransom industry. They are known to sexually assault women, kill citizens, and tax locals across vast swaths of northern Nigeria.

Chief of Defence Operations, Emeka Onumajuru, who represented General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, said the deradicalization program is "vital to breaking the cycle of terrorism and banditry through a structured pathway for rehabilitation and reintegration" of bandits. The program has also been used to deradicalize former Boko Haram fighters in the North East zone.

Deradicalization efforts yield results in North East 

So far, Nigerian officials say Operation Safe Corridor has been instrumental in the fight against insurgency in the North East. The program aimed to rehabilitate former insurgents who surrendered or defected, reintegrating about 2,190 repentant terrorists back into the society.

The initiative is built on five pillars, says Onumajuru. These are: disarmament, demobilization, deradicalization, rehabilitation, and reintegration. 

While the program has been relatively successful in the North East region, concerns have been raised about recidivism, with reports of some rehabilitated individuals returning to terror groups.  

Now with the intended expansion of the program to the North West, analysts have raised questions about Operation Safe Corridor's effectiveness. This is because the banditry in North West is largely driven by financial incentives like ransom payments, cattle rustling, and illegal mining, rather than ideology.

Boko Haram militants have attacked many communities and killed thousands of civilians, and displaced over a million peopleImage: REUTERS

Can Operation Safe Corridor repeat successes? 

Samuel Malik, a senior researcher at the pan-African think tank Good Governance Africa, believes the replicating the program is not inherently flawed. He says only "kinetic responses" that involve aggressive measures, often with military action, cannot solve Nigeria's security challenges."

But Samuel Malik adds the program can only succeed in the North West "if it is properly structured, monitored, and adapted to local realities, rather than being a rushed initiative."

"Deradicalization is effective when dealing with individuals who have been indoctrinated into violent extremist ideologies, but most bandits in the North West have explicitly rejected jihadist agendas," Samuel Malik said.

Oluwole Ojewale, an analyst with Dakar-based Institute for Security Studies, said the problem with "Safe Corridor" is that it was developed for terror groups who share extreme views.

"If what the government wants to do is demobilization, it is quite in order. But they cannot afford to copy and paste what they did in the North East and replicate the same in the Noth West," he told DW.

Nigierian security forces have been unable to effectively patrol remote villages in northern Nigeria, leaving them vulnerable to attack from banditsImage: Sunday Alamba/AP/picture alliance

Deep-rooted problems remain

Critics of Operation Safe Corridor have said the program is perpetrator-centered and risks being seen as a reward system for terrorists.

Dengiyefa Angalapu, a counterterrorism and peacebuilding researcher, said this argument is reductionist. He told DW the initiative can be implemented in the North West as there are multiple actors in the region, including ideological terror groups, which often get generalized under the catchphrase of banditry.

Dengiyefa added that the deep-rooted grievances among herders prompting some to take up arms makes the initiative suitable for the region.

"Kinetic strategy alone cannot lead to a decline in terrorism. This is an initiative that should be expanded to other parts of the country to provide a national framework for countering terrorism," he told DW.

The analysts seem in agreement that this strategy should involve local peacebuilding mechanisms and economic empowerment to prevent relapse. 

"While certain elements of the initiative such as psychological support, vocational training, and community reintegration remain crucial, the government should prioritize economic reintegration, conflict resolution, and mechanisms that prevent re-engagement in criminal activities," Samuel said.

Edited by Cai Nebe