Some repentant terrorists took to the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno capital on Saturday morning, August 13, to beg for forgiveness from residents of the state as they carried out sanitation exercise.

The sanitation exercise was organized by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in collaboration with the Borno state government.

The repentant insurgents wore T-shirts that had the words ‘Please forgive us’, ‘We have repented’, and ‘Let’s rebuild Borno again’ inscribed on them.

Repentant insurgents beg Borno state residents

Speaking on the exercise, Mala Mustafa, a senior research fellow with CDD, said the exercise is part of efforts to prepare them for their reintegration process. He said 400 of the repentant insurgents have been mobilized for the exercise, with 50 of them participating this Saturday for a start in Maiduguri hajj camp.

Abdullahi Ishaq, special adviser to the Borno governor on security, also lauded the initiative by CDD as he said ;

“CDD provided the equipment for this exercise and has been providing us with technical advice as good partners.

He disclosed that the initiative taken by the government after years of insurgency led to the surrender of many insurgents, and also contributed to peace-building efforts in the state.

“Today, Maiduguri is more peaceful than Abuja. We want to continue to call on communities to support this peace process by accepting them,” Ishaq said.