Nigerian Army has begun the de-radicalisation of forty-three Boko Haram insurgents who recently surrendered in Borno.

The insurgents were airlifted to Gombe, to begin their de-radicalisation and rehabilitation programme, which was being run under the “Operation Safe Corridor “initiated by the Federal Government.

Deputy Director Army Public Relations, Theatre Command, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu said the programme was designed to encourage the insurgents to lay down their arms and join the de-radicalisation programme for reintegration into the society.

The Theatre Commander, Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru said the insurgents would be given a new lease of life to join the society during the three-month de-radicalisation and rehabilitation processes.

Attahiru urged them to embrace and undertake the programme whole-heartedly, to enable them to benefit and positively re-orientate their views about life and the society in general.

He called on all other insurgents to abandon the futile struggle and reject the hypocrisy of the Boko Haram leadership, who live in affluence, while their foot soldiers die in hunger.

More than seventy Boko Haram insurgents had earlier in the month, surrendered to troops in the North-East, taking advantage of the window of grace provided by the Federal Government for insurgents.