At least 1,250 Boko Haram militants have surrendered to Nigerian army after losing 200 fighters to rival Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) in northeast.
They surrendered to Nigerian troops in the last seven days following a deadly clash with rival ISWAP which led to the death of their fighters.
The rivalry between Boko Haram and Iswap since 2021 has led to the killing of more than 2,320 jihadists as both sides dip deeper in trenches while Nigerian troops and those of the multinational forces continue their operations to rid the Northeast region of the insurgents.
ISWAP carried out revenge attacks on Boko Haram fighters in their enclaves and successfully dislodged them and killed many of them, forcing survivors to flee their camps in Gaizuwa, Mantari, Gabchari, Kashimiri and Maimusari in Bama local government in North East Borno state.
Mr Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad region, confirmed that Iswap also intercepted the fleeing terrorists of Boko Haram in Yale in Konduga and Choliye in Gudumbali in Guzamala local governments and neutralised them.
ISWAP, he said, also attacked other hideouts of Boko Haram in Asinari, Ashanari and Masarmari area in Kondug: “More than 200 members of Boko Haram and their families, including women and children were killed.’’
ISWAP, according to sources, mobilised more fighters to go after the fleeing Boko Haram, who were later intercepted at Choliye village in Borno state, where they opened fire and killed 200 terrorists without sparing their families, most of them women and children.
Some of the surviving Boko Haram’s leaders that escaped during the attacks are Abbah Tukur, the Khaid of Mantari and Maimusari; Abu Isa, Khaid of Ngauri; Ali Hajja Fusami, the newly appointed Khaid of Garin Abu Ikliima.
The ongoing rivalry between Boko Haram and Iswap seems unending as several efforts by the groups to merge forces against the Nigerian military and Multinational Joint Task Force failed.
Devastating attacks
Both ISWAP and Boko Haram have, so far, failed to increase their manpower and equipment needed to sustain their nefarious activities as they continued to attack each other, inflicting heavy casualties among themselves.
On December 6, 2022, Boko Haram carried out one of the most devastating attacks, killing 33 wives of ISWAP fighters in Sambisa Forest.
Also on December 31, 2022, Boko Haram attacked armoury bases of the Iswap at Toumbum Allura Kurnawa and Kangar by the shores of Lake Chad and killed several Iswap terrorists and the seized a large number of weapons.
The sustained inter-rivalry clash of the groups, has triggered massive surrendering of the terrorists in Mafa, Konduga and Bama Local Government Areas.
“The terrorists also surrendered because of the fear that they will be neutralised by either the Super Tukano jet fighters of the Nigerian Military or the Iswap rival faction. There was no hiding place anymore.
“So far, we have received 1,250 fighters and their families within one week. This number was the highest we have received at a very short period of time in different parts of the theartre,’’ a military source said.
The militants who surrendered also gave up about 1,000 livestock, and confessed that the Iswap were after their lives as they do not spare women and children.
The military said profiling of the surrendered terrorists was ongoing, after which they would be handed over to the appropriate agencies for rehabilitation.
The military had reported that thousands of fighters and family members, have left Boko Haram, especially since the death of their spiritual leader, Abubakar Shekau, who blew himself up in May 2021, during a rival clash with Iswap.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen Faruk Yahaya, has appealed to Nigerians to play active role in tackling insurgency in the northeast.
He made the appeal at a three-Day Seminar in Abuja on March 4, 2023 on the Rehabilitation of Repentant Insurgents in the North East with the theme, ” Rehabilitation of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria; Issues, Challenges and Sustainability”.
He said the military was seeking better ways to develop viable strategy for the management of surrendered insurgents in the North East.
According to him, the kinetic efforts of the military, especially the Nigerian army, has led to the surrender of over 87,000 terrorists and their families in the region since 2009 when insurgency hit the region.
He said that all those who surrendered had laid down their arms and embraced peace.
“As we celebrate this achievement, it is important we know that it has its numerous challenges on troops operational activities, logistic support and above all, the morale of those performing their constitutional roles in the region.
“There is also the issue of local populace’s acceptance of the repentant and surrendered terrorists back to their local communities, and also the effect of such mass surrender on the three tiers of government,” he said. BY DAILY NATION