Army Chief Advocates Inter-Agency Collaboration for Disarmament and Reintegration

Army Chief Advocates Inter-Agency Collaboration for Disarmament and Reintegration

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has advocated an inter-agency collaboration towards disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram fighters.

The Army chief made the call at a roundtable on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), peace building and reconciliation in the North-East of Nigeria.

The programme was organised by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) in conjunction with NEEM Foundation.

Buratai said the Nigerian Army has put in place right mechanisms to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate the ex-combatants.

He said: “Disarmament in this context requires heighten the military activities to be able to forcefully disarm the terrorists. We are already in the process of demobilisation with the operation safe corridor ongoing in some parts of North-East including, Gombe State.

“For reintegration is quite fundamental. We must look at, ‘Will the society accept these individuals?’ Considering the atrocities, they’ve committed,” he said.

The Army chief therefore called for an interagency collaboration to make sure that the insurgents do not go back to the bushes to unleash terrors on innocent people.

In his remarks, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was the Special Guest of Honour said the North-East insurgency has assumed the insurrectional level, hence the need for intervention of the military to disarm, demobilise, reconcile and reintegrate.

“The goal of this forum is to bring together all peace stakeholders; military, civilians, federal and state agencies, local and international NGOs to discuss what is happening in the northeast, approach to use in ending it. Therefore, work out disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and reconciliation (DDRR) process to address the issues.

“Now that the ongoing kinetic efforts have been upgraded with dismantling on terrorists’ enclave to some large extent, all efforts must now be geared towards developing a consensus which will allow those of them who are still in doubt to surrender willingly without being forced.”

By PRNigeria