No fewer than 720 deadly Boko Haram fighters have surrendered to the Borno State Government from the swathe of forests in Sambisa and Cameroon in the last two months.
About 92 of the fighters were among the 840 who surrendered in Cameroon and returned to Nigeria.
Thorough screening carried out on other returnees revealed that they were farmers.
The returnee fighters have been handed over to the military for disarming and profiling preparatory to their being taken to a camp.
Two of the 720 fighters were said to be experts in bomb making and fabrication of bullets for Boko Haram.
It was learnt that most of the fighters were lieutenants of deceased Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, who blew himself up in a face-saving move during an ambush against him by rival Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) fighters.
The Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Abdulwahab Eyitayo, said that more than 8,000 Boko Haram fighters, including their wives and children, have so far surrendered to troops.
There were strong indications yesterday that the military might be preparing for the last phase of the battle against the deadly Boko Haram sect.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said the death of Shekau encouraged the Borno State Government to adopt a non-kinetic approach in the fight against insurgency.
Non-kinetic approach, according to the source, refers to using more of persuasion than confrontation in getting the insurgents to drop their arms.
The source said: “The surrender of Boko Haram fighters is real. Following the death of Shekau, we adopted non-kinetic approach by opening up communication with them, and it is working.
“These fighters did not want to surrender to the military for fear of the unknown, so it was part of the agreement that the state would handle it.
“Most of the fighters became war-weary after discovering that their leader, Shekau, committed suicide.
“With ideological superior argument on the consequences of suicide for a Muslim, they bought into non-kinetic approach.
“So far, about 720 Boko Haram commanders (fighters) are in custody in three centres established by the Borno State Government. But they were first received by the military at a base in Bama for profiling and disarming before they were taken to the centres.
“The first commander to surrender was Modu M. from Dikwa. He volunteered to come out and through him more than 719 top commanders have surrendered their arms. Among them, we have two experts in bomb making and fabrication of bullets.
“One of the deadly commanders was Rugurugu from Gwoza, who personally came with his wife and children to beg for forgiveness.
”About 92 of the 720 fighters came from the Cameroon axis.
“You should know that actually, 840 suspected Boko Haram members returned from Cameroon. But after profiling, we discovered that 92 of them were commanders while the rest were farmers, abductees and the enslaved ones they were using for support.”
Asked about the fate of the Chibok girls that were yet to return home since they were abducted in 2014, the top source said: “Among those that have surrendered in the last two months, there are three Chibok girls.
“The last Chibok girl we are expecting refused to get married. But she was serving as a slave to Boko Haram.”
On the likelihood of a repeat of the Afghanistan scenario playing out in Nigeria, the top source, who was privy to the ongoing coordination, added: “We are countering their ideological focus. The Borno model will be different from Afghanistan.
“Most of Shekau’s fighters are young boys between 20 and 25 years old. We are hopeful of succeeding in changing their focus.
“In fact, their communities are involved in their identification. We have brought in religious leaders to preach to them as part of their reorientation. We want them to be part of the restoration of the lost glory of Borno State.
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