The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has said that he cannot rule out the possibility of some of the over 500,000 repentant terrorists picking up guns and returning to terrorism.

“Yes, I believe among the 500,000 or more that have repented, I cannot rule out the possibility of fewer of them going back to the bush,” Zulum said.

Zulum made this statement while speaking on News Central’s Breakfast Central on Wednesday morning.

Nigeria began reintegrating repentant terrorists in 2016 with the establishment of Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), which was designed to rehabilitate and reintegrate low-risk Boko Haram members who voluntarily surrendered.

Many Nigerians have criticised the Federal Government, noting that some of them may return to terrorism.

While speaking on this, Zulum said that the majority of the repentant terrorists are doing the right thing.

“I cannot completely say that 100% of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99% are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism.”

In December 2024, Zulum said that insurgency had been reduced by over 90% in the state.

In recent weeks, however, terrorists have launched attacks in some regions of the state, including Marte, forcing over 20,000 residents to flee the community four years after they resettled.

Borno and Nigeria at large are battling one of the worst spates of insecurity crises in their history, with terrorists employing sophisticated warfare like drones in their operations.

To win the war against terrorism, Zulum proffered the use of non-kinetic measures.

“Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place,” he said.

“What I mean by non-kinetic measures are social, political, and economic dimensions of the crisis. Our ongoing non-kinetic measures have yielded positive results with the support of the Nigerian military.”