₦airaland Forum

Back to the trenches: Ex-Boko Haram commanders, others reveal terrorists brutal comeback in North-East

Multiple former commanders of the Boko Haram terrorist group, who surrendered under a government amnesty initiative, have revealed that a growing number of ex-fighters are returning to the trenches.

These ex-commanders, drawn from over 30,000 fighters who defected, were profiled by the Nigerian military and engaged as hybrids

One former commander, who once served under Abubakar Shekau, disclosed that the group’s leadership had genuinely embraced the opportunity to surrender and reintegrate into society.

However, the government allegedly failed to honour key commitments, such as the provision of decent housing, skills acquisition training and economic reintegration programs.

Instead, according to him, each surrendering fighter received only ₦100,000 cash and then was left to fend for themselves.

“We laid down our arms, submitted ourselves, brought out others from Sambisa. But now we live in hardship — many have returned to Sambisa,” he told the ICIR.

One of his wives, he added, had even run back to the forest due to extreme poverty.

Another ex-commander from the ISWAP faction echoed similar regrets, stating, “We farmed, we had livestock, and some of us even had thriving businesses that took us to countries like Dubai.”

He warned that unless the government takes urgent action, more defectors may rejoin terrorist ranks.

The revelations suggest that the federal government’s deradicalization and reintegration program may be failing, threatening to undo years of military and diplomatic gains in the fight against Boko Haram and ISWAP.

The former insurgents say they do not seek luxury, but simply want the promised support: shelter, skills, and means to rebuild their lives. Their appeal is for the Nigerian government to uphold its end of the deal — before it’s too late.

“The danger is that many of us who are still assisting the military may soon be left with no choice but to return — not because we want to fight, but because we cannot survive like this,” one warned.

melonsgroup:
So you forgot it for 3 Days..
Inside your bag

Flamemignon1:
Trump loves the poorly educated. Obama had nothing to do with gay rights but go off

Emmy000seun:
Make people no come dey compare this to Nigeria situation ooo,... because our case is different..😂😂..na politicians scammers no let us enjoy 4 our naija...

free2ryhme:
what shld we do about it

South Africa recorded 109 business liquidations in April 2025, bringing the total number of closures this year to 482 during the first four months in 2025, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).


South Africa is facing a continued rise in business closures, with over 100 companies liquidated in April 2024 marking a 13.2% increase compared to the same period last year, highlighting ongoing challenges for the country’s business environment.

The data shows that voluntary liquidations where business owners decide to close their companies increased by 25.7% year-on-year.

Conversely, compulsory liquidations initiated by creditors due to unpaid debts declined by 29.4%. This shift suggests that more entrepreneurs are choosing to close down operations proactively amid economic difficulties.

Businesses across the country are struggling with a combination of financial and operational pressures.

High interest rates are making borrowing more expensive, while weak consumer demand has reduced revenue streams. These challenges make it difficult for many businesses to remain viable.

Rising operational costs and energy insecurity
Energy supply issues, particularly frequent power outages known as load shedding, continue to disrupt business operations. Companies are forced to use expensive alternatives like generators, which drive up costs.
In addition, logistical hurdles and increasing transport expenses further strain resources, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

These compounding factors have contributed to the increased wave of liquidations. The Small Business Institute has noted that the data reflects a worsening business climate, where many companies cannot sustain operations under current economic pressures.

THE TRUMP FACTOR

BusinessTech attributes South Africa’s increasingly difficult business climate to mounting external and internal pressures, including the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff war and growing tensions within the Government of National Unity (GNU) over the 2025 budget.

Trump imposed a sweeping 10% global tariff on 5 April, followed by a harsher set of “reciprocal” tariffs targeting select countries including South Africa.
Branded the “Liberation Day” tariff, the latter measure was temporarily paused for 90 days.

Washington's trade war with South Africa, following the nation's land reform laws that allegedly targeted white farmers, further strained relations between the two countries.

Trump's aggressive trade posture triggered significant global uncertainty, disrupting markets and prompting many South African businesses to halt investment and development plans as they adopted a cautious, wait-and-see approach.

As South Africa moves through 2025, the growing number of business liquidations serves as a stark reminder of the need for stronger economic interventions to protect small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of the economy, and to foster recovery and growth.

Redoil:
is wike a content creator for nairaland

emmabest2000:
Snake language translator

Konquest:
This was predictable in the light of major economic reforms of huge proportions. You have to cut your coat according to your cloth. Simple!

Even right in the United States, some folks are giving up their dogs for better care due to economic reasons. BETTER to NOT engage in showing off a dog as a social status symbol like a lot of these people do when you are hungry.
Period.

zoedew:
That humans have lost it is shown in the use of the pronoun “him” and her to describe an animal! An animal is referred to using the pronoun “it”!

Ballo1292:
To he candid, i even sold my dog last week Wednesday to feed.

It was painful seen it in chains taken away to be slaughtered. My children, wife and I shed tires to be candid.

I asked for its forgiveness.

Man will use what he has to survive this economy.

I worked on NGO until Trump terminated our new grant of 5 Year's

Psoul:
Not easy at all taking care of these pets.
Mine (4 of them) have learned to eat any food available now not just only foreign dog food alone.

onuman:
BBC, who instructed president Bola Ahmed Tinubu to jump into the most harsh economic policies he took immediately after his first days as president of Nigeria; policies he took without any ministers or advisers who would have told him the policies would decimate the population of Nigeria?

Preye Maxwell looks distressed as he leaves his beloved dog Hanks at an animal shelter in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub.

Fighting back tears, he says: "I can't afford to take care of him. I can't afford to feed him the way he should be fed."

His two-year old American Eskimo barks as his owner turns his back and walks out of the St Mark's Animal Rescue Foundation in the Lagos suburb of Ajah.

Dr Mark Afua, a vet and chairman of the rescue centre, takes Hanks and puts him in a big metal cage - one of many in the single-storey building designed for dogs, cats, snakes and other animals.

Hanks wheels around in circles in his cage - and Dr Afua tries to calm the distressed fluffy-haired dog.

Mr Maxwell, an online media strategist, was recently made redundant. His job-hunting means he is never at home and so feels unable to look after Hanks.

"I'm trying to get whatever I have to do to survive. I don't even have the time now [to look after Hanks] because I'm always out looking for jobs," he told the BBC.

The 33-year-old's decision was difficult to make, but it is one that many pet owners are taking in the face of the rising cost of living in Nigeria.

Africa's most-populous nation has been hit by high inflation since President Bola Tinubu came to power two years ago and removed a long-standing fuel subsidy.

The inflation rate surged from 22% in May 2023 to 35% in December 2024, a 28-year high, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS.)

Inflation has since fallen back to 24% but this means that prices are still continuing to rise, just not as quickly as before.

The economic crunch has meant that some companies have had to downsize to keep afloat in the face of rising operating costs, pushing young people like Mr Maxwell into an already saturated labour market.

Animal rights activists and animal shelters say that they are seeing an unprecedented numbers of abandoned animals as the cost of looking after pets spirals out of control.

Prices for pet food and veterinary care have jumped by more 100% as some things, especially medication, are imported - and the local currency has plummeted against the dollar.

"About 10 years ago when we started this project, we really didn't have people giving up their dogs because they were unable to feed the dogs," Dr Afua told the BBC.

"Right now, we have 10, 12 animals being dropped in a month.

Some, like Mr Maxwell, hand their pets over to a shelter for adoption but others simply abandon their animals.

Animal cruelty campaigner Jackie Idimogu, who is president of My Dog and I - a dog-lovers' community in Lagos who often helps to rehome pets, says she has noticed the change.

"Now they don't even have that patience [to find new owners]. They just tie the dog out to a post on the road or they just unleash it on the road," she told the BBC.

The 32-year-old says more that 50% of her income as a furniture maker and interior designer now goes on looking after her four dogs.

"I'm spending roughly 250,000 naira ($158; £117) every month on pets," she says, adding that this includes someone to walk the dogs and look after them when she was not around.

But Ms Idimogu says she cannot bear to give them up.

"As a single lady, I have no kids of my own yet. My dogs are my babies. I don't see any difference between myself as a dog mum and a human mum. I don't think I have it in me to give up any of my babies for any reason whatsoever."

Instead, she has chosen to adapt her lifestyle - fewer luxuries for herself like jewellery, expensive hair styles and spa visits and fewer treats for her pets like chicken, yoghurt treats and car rides.

"I used to be flashy, but now I had to tone down because of my dogs."

Jet Li expresses pride as all 4 daughters graduate college despite his lack of primary school certificate