Please forgive us – Repentant insurgents beg Borno state residents

On August 13, as people of the state were doing cleaning exercises in the communities, a few repentant insurgents were on the streets of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, pleading for forgiveness from them.

The Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), along with the government of Borno state, conducted the sanitation exercise. Some of the penitent rebels sported T-shirts with the slogans “Please forgive us,” “We have repented,” and “Let’s rebuild Borno once more.” Speaking on the exercise, Mala Mustafa, a senior research fellow with CDD, said the exercise is part of efforts to prepare them for their reintegration process.

He said 400 of the repentant insurgents have been mobilised for the exercise, with 50 of them participating this Saturday for a start in Maiduguri hajj camp.

In July, Christopher Musa, theatre commander of northeast joint task force of operation Hadin Kai, said more than 67,000 insurgents have surrendered to troops so far.