By John Ikani
No fewer than 850 former Boko Haram fighters and their family members who escaped from the jihadist group to Cameroon, have returned to Nigeria.
The Governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari ll, said the former militants agreed to voluntarily return to Nigeria.
Bakari revealed that Nigerian authorities were ready to receive the former militants in disarmament centers following complaints that such centers housing them in Cameroon had become overwhelmed by the number of former jihadists defecting since the terrorist group’s leader was declared killed in May.
Spokesperson of the former militants Kadir Hassan said the ex-combatants pledge to contribute to the development of their communities when they return to Nigeria.
According to the 34-year-old, many Cameroonians and Nigerians he saw in the Sambisa Forest want to leave Boko Haram but are afraid that fighters will kill them.
He appealed to the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin that is fighting the jihadist group to help people who are still under Boko Haram captivity and want to leave.
