A British girl, who willingly joined ISIS in Syria at the age of 15, married an ISIS fighter, had children, lost her husband, and moved to a Syrian refugee camp but now wants to return to the UK as a repentant, has been severally turned down.
Shamima Begum (now 22) had pleaded for pardon when her last kid was very sick at the camp but was ignored by the UK government. The child died of pneumonia – two of her kids had died before the last one. But the UK kept adamant.
She has even promised to help fight terrorism, but the UK government would hear none of it. The reason? Though Begum acted as an under-18, the system says she has lost British citizenship and that once you join a terror gang, you have joined. No space for return. That is the wisdom of the British!
So, if our own country (Nigeria) is fond of playing with fire, fond of sleeping with poisonous snakes as pets just because the snake told you it’s now ‘born again’, then know that other countries will be afraid of you. They will conclude that you are either ignorant or you are a secret partner to the terrorists.
In February 2020, the Nigerian military released about 1,400 Boko Haram members who claimed to have repented. The military has gone on to release hundreds of others since then. The Nigerian government’s soft treatment of repentant terrorists, most of whom are responsible for the death of over 35,000 people in the country’s northeast region since 2009, had drawn widespread criticism.
The Nigerian senate is even moving to create a special agency with funds to make life comfortable for so-called repentant terrorists.
Also, following the release of the names of 47 people sponsoring terrorism – including six Nigerians – by the government of the United Arab Emirates over a week ago, the United States government pledged to release the names of all sponsors of Boko Haram.
One would have expected the Nigerian government to be happy about such a pledge and support the release. But no, the government said it was not interested in naming and shaming Boko Haram sponsors. It said it is interested in prosecuting them, yet the government has not convicted one Boko Haram member or sponsor since 2009.
Furthermore, the Military says about 8000 Boko Haram fighters so far have surrendered and are housed in a facility in Borno State where they took newsmen to last week. Fears were high that the so-called repentant terrorists were being recruited into the army until authorities refuted such claims. The army sees the large number of fighters surrendering as a positive development whereas the masses remain apprehensive.
Reports have come out showing that over 300 sponsors have been let off the hook without evidence of prosecution except 45 that have come in charge sheets but without proper prosecution. These have caused fear about the federal government’s ability to deal ruthlessly with sponsors because of their perceived connections to the powers that be.
In the US, despite the abundance of human rights over the years, the US runs some of the most vicious facilities in the world, where they lock away the most daring terrorists and bandits. This is because the US government understands that a terrorist has only one mission: to upturn the system (government) through the most vicious methods such as bombing and mass killing, all to install a strange regime and run their utopian dream in real-time.
The US realized that whoever destroys the system would have destroyed millions of people. So, if the penal codes and other legitimate methods to contain such vandals do not work, they apply unorthodox ways with men that are equally vicious; they go outside the law to deal with outlaws.
Yes, we are African; we may want to be our brothers’ keepers, but mixing goat and sheep in one pen (enclosure) is dangerous.
The Nigerian government may welcome ‘repentant’ terrorists, but they must be kept at abeyance. They must not be integrated into the security forces. They must not be integrated into the civilian community. But they must be identified, biometrically marked, and sent to live in a marked zone for about one full year. After that, they can downgrade their security status gradually as the years go by.
They should work in large farms owned by them and must be made to prove loyalty in terms of helping to fight terror and supplying intelligence for years before top-level officials can do reviews of individual cases. We must look at why the UK is keeping a huge distance from Begum. It’s just an appeal.
Shamima Begum, a British girl who joined ISIS in Syria at 15, married an ISIS fighter, and now seeks to return to the UK as a repentant, has repeatedly been rejected by the UK government. Despite losing her husband and three children in Syria, her pleas, including offers to aid in counter-terrorism, have been ignored because she lost British citizenship and the UK maintains a strict stance against returnees from terror groups.
In contrast, Nigeria has taken a much softer approach towards repentant terrorists. The Nigerian military has released thousands of Boko Haram members who claimed to have repented, attracting widespread criticism due to the militants’ roles in the deaths of over 35,000 people. The Nigerian government is also considering creating a special agency to support these former terrorists despite fears of their integration into society and potential recruitment into the military.
Furthermore, despite international efforts to expose and prosecute terrorism sponsors, including pledges from the UAE and the US, the Nigerian government has shown disinterest in naming and shaming Boko Haram sponsors, preferring prosecution which has seen little progress since 2009. This leniency raises concerns about Nigeria’s commitment to effectively dealing with terrorism and its sponsors.
The US, with its stringent counter-terrorism measures, takes a different approach by housing terrorists in strict facilities, recognizing the severe threat they pose. Nigeria is urged to adopt a more cautious approach by keeping repentant terrorists in marked zones under strict surveillance for extended periods before reintegration and ensuring they contribute to counter-terrorism efforts through intelligence and loyalty proof.
