Please forgive us – Repentant insurgents beg Borno state residents as they conduct sanitation exercise in different communities

Some repentant insurgents were on the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno capital on Saturday morning, August 13, to beg for forgiveness from residents of the state as they carried out sanitation exercise in the communities.

The sanitation exercise was organized by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in collaboration with the Borno state government. Some of the repentant insurgents wore T-shirts with inscriptions that read ‘Please forgive us’, ‘We have repented’, and ‘Let’s rebuild Borno again’.

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.