The Federal Government has graduated 744 persons formerly linked to terrorism after completing its Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration, DRR, programme in Gombe State.
The graduates concluded a 24-week course organised by Defence Headquarters under _Operation Safe Corridor_ at the Mallam Sidi Camp. The programme is part of ongoing efforts to end insurgency through non-kinetic approaches.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, said the initiative is designed to encourage defection within terrorist ranks by offering a corridor of opportunities through rehabilitation and reintegration. He described the DRR programme as a key component of the Federal Government’s broader counter-insurgency strategy.
While in camp, the graduates received vocational training in carpentry, barbing, tailoring, welding, bakery, vulcanising, and agriculture. Each graduate will also receive starter packs to support self-sufficiency and ease their reintegration into society.
Operation Safe Corridor was launched in 2016 to provide repentant low-risk former insurgents with psychosocial support, civic education, and skills acquisition before reuniting them with their communities.
