More than 200 Boko Haram insurgents, including their spouses and children, have surrendered to Nigerian troops in the Lake Chad region, military authorities confirmed.
The mass surrender reportedly took place over the weekend as a result of sustained military offensives and intensified psychological operations in the northeast and surrounding border communities.
Security sources revealed that those who surrendered included active fighters, women, and children who had been hiding in makeshift camps across border zones linking Nigeria, Chad, and Niger Republic.
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai received the group and immediately began profiling the individuals before transferring them to designated rehabilitation and reintegration facilities in accordance with national protocols for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR).
Military authorities emphasized that all surrendered individuals will undergo thorough screening to determine their involvement in terror-related crimes. Eligible individuals will then be placed in the government’s de-radicalization and reintegration programme aimed at restoring peace in the conflict-affected region.
The Nigerian Armed Forces, in collaboration with regional allies under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), have intensified operations across the Lake Chad Basin, targeting remaining terror enclaves and encouraging more insurgents to renounce violence.
Authorities called on other combatants still in hiding to take advantage of the opportunity and surrender, assuring them of fair treatment under existing frameworks, while reaffirming the government’s determination to end insurgency and restore lasting peace in the region.
