Fatima Musa, a repentant Boko Haram member now resettled in Mafa, Borno State, has expressed regret for shredding her National Certificate in Education (NCE) certificate.
During a community dialogue in Maiduguri organized by the Allamin Foundation with support from UKaid, Musa reflected on her past decision to join the insurgency, which she now views as a mistake influenced by misinterpretation of religious teachings.
Musa stated, “We were misled as young people through the use of religion and later discovered that we went the wrong way after being deradicalized by the foundation.” She added, “I regret tearing my NCE certificate up when I made the mistake of accepting the twisted ideology that Western education was Haram.”
Another repentant insurgent, Bintu, pleaded for forgiveness and support, emphasizing the need for acceptance to prevent return to insurgency. “If you keep telling people they are doomed, they’ll say since there’s no forgiveness, they had better go back and continue,” Bintu said. She urged the community to support the foundation in reaching out to more repentant individuals.
Community leaders and residents of Mafa also advocated for increased government support for deradicalized individuals. Babagana Butu, leader of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Mafa, mentioned, “We patrol the area together. We provided them with farmlands to cultivate like everyone else as part of the reintegration process.” He called for more government empowerment programs to aid their reintegration and sustainability.
The Executive Director of the Allamin Foundation, Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin, “The dialogue was organized to discuss issues arising from the reintegration process and the way forward regarding challenges faced,” She said.
