Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), has dismissed claims that repentant Boko Haram members are being recruited into the Nigerian Armed Forces, describing the reports as false and misleading.
Irabor made the clarification on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, where he said such recruitment was impossible under Nigeria’s military structure.
“It has always been a burden for me where we got this impression from. How can they be recruited? This does not exist,” the former defence chief said.
Irabor, who previously served as the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole and later as Chief of Defence Staff, said his experience at the highest levels of military command makes the allegation impossible to believe.
He explained that before becoming CDS, he served as Theatre Commander, then Force Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force, and later as Chief of Defence Training and Operations, where he oversaw recruitment and training processes across the armed forces.
“And then I became Theatre Commander and later got appointed as CDS, a position I spent two and a half years in. How could it be? Where people got that impression, I cannot tell,” he said.
Irabor added that even the basic recruitment process into the Nigerian military requires clearance from an applicant’s local government, making it impossible for former terrorists to be enlisted without detection.
“It is impossible. You cannot come into the military if those in your local government have not actually sanctioned you,” he added.
He clarified that Operation Safe Corridor is solely responsible for the deradicalisation and reintegration of low risk Boko Haram detainees back into civilian life and not into the armed forces.
While admitting that Nigeria continues to face serious security challenges, the retired general rejected claims that these challenges are due to failures by the military.
According to him, manpower, modern equipment, intelligence and improved understanding of security dynamics remain critical to strengthening the fight against insurgency.
In recent years, the Federal Government has intensified efforts to deradicalise and reintegrate surrendered Boko Haram members through Operation Safe Corridor, a programme designed for low risk ex combatants who voluntarily surrender.
