8,000 Boko Haram, ISWAP fighters surrender - army

A renewed offensive against insurgents in Nigeria’s northeast region has forced more than 8,000 Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) fighters to surrender in three months.

The Nigerian army says it expects more militants to defect because of intense pressure from military operations in the north of the country.  

The army, which is taking custody of terrorists who surrender, said the fighters also turned in members of their families, making the process of profiling their huge numbers taxing.

Brig Gen Abdulwahab Eyitayo said the terrorists surrendered from their enclaves in the Sambisa forest, as well as from other hideouts on the fringes of Lake Chad in northeast Borno state.

The commander said fighters in Maiduguri, Borno, were overrun by troops.

“One of the reasons they are surrendering in droves is the overwhelming firepower from the troops. It is because every man’s endeavour is motivated by his family’s well-being, that is why they are coming out with their families,” he said.

“We started seeing the signs from July 2021. Our intensified operations had blocked their logistics routes and supplies. Diseases have also overpowered many of them.”

He cautioned the remaining fighters that it was better to surrender now and be treated as prisoners of war rather than risk dying when troops move in to clear them and their sympathisers later.

Officials warned that the window of opportunity to surrender will close soon.

The commander noted that some of the Boko Haram terrorists who had surrendered were advising their colleagues still in trenches to come out and avoid the military onslaught.