OPERATION SAFE CORRIDOR AND THE AMNESTY DEBATES: HAS NIGERIA'S REHABILITATION PROGRAMME HELPED OR HURT NATIONAL SECURITY?
INTRODUCTION Few government policies in Nigeria have generated as much controversy as the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for repentant Boko Haram fighters, popularly known as Operation Safe Corridor (OSC). Since its establishment in 2015/2016, the programme has sought to deradicalize, rehabilitate and reintegrate former insurgents who voluntarily surrendered to Nigerian authorities. While supporters describe it as a pragmatic strategy to weaken insurgency and encourage defections, critics argue that it rewards violence and may be encouraging future armed groups to seek similar concessions. More than a decade after the Chibok schoolgirls' abduction in 2014, insecurity remains a major challenge across Nigeria. The Northeast continues to battle Boko Haram and ISWAP remnants, the Northwest faces banditry, the Southeast grapples with separatist violence, while oil theft and militancy remain concerns in the Niger Delta. This reality raises a difficult question : ...