Over 20,000 Boko Haram Fighters Have Surrendered in Five Years, Says Operation Hadin Kai Commander
By Victor Idajili
More than 20,000 Boko Haram fighters have laid down their arms and surrendered to troops in the North-East over the past five years, according to the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar.
Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri on Wednesday, Abubakar said the surrenders are part of a wider trend since 2021 that has seen 152,864 insurgents and their family members give up violence. Of that number, 20,815 are active male fighters, 37,095 are women, and 64,114 are children.
He noted that in 2026 alone, 958 insurgents and their families have already surrendered across the region.
Abubakar attributed the steady rise to sustained military pressure, the weakening of the group’s command structure, and non-military efforts aimed at encouraging defections. Many of those who surrendered, he said, cited constant troop operations, the collapse of their leadership, and harsh living conditions in insurgent camps as reasons for leaving.
All those who turn themselves in, he added, undergo thorough screening and debriefing to provide intelligence that has helped shape ongoing operations and contributed to recent gains in the theatre.
The commander also credited the Borno State Government’s “Borno Model” — a deradicalisation and reintegration programme run with local and international partners — for giving repentant fighters a clear path back into society.
