Rita Odafe
Ba’ana Bdiya, a former Boko Haram fighter who had supposedly repented, has been arrested in connection with a bomb attack that resulted in the deaths of several soldiers. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, Bdiya, also known as ‘Manci’, was apprehended by troops of Operation Hadin Kai for providing information about the movement of the troops to terrorists on March 16. This intelligence led to an ambush of soldiers near Banki town, Borno state, in which three soldiers were killed and four were injured.
It was also reported that Manci had passed similar intelligence to Boko Haram fighters in February, which resulted in the killing of some soldiers during fighting patrols at Ngauri. Military sources expressed their concerns that the release of repentant terrorists into society without proper deradicalisation could impede the progress made in the war against insurgency.
