SaharaReporters’ new findings have ignited public anger across Nigeria. Documents show that Borno State spent a staggering N6 billion in just 18 months rehabilitating so-called “repentant” Boko Haram fighters.
The money, meant for disarmament and reintegration, keeps flowing. Between January and September 2024, N3.45 billion was spent — almost the entire budgeted amount. Another N7.4 billion is already set aside for 2025.
Yet, the bombs still fall. The deaths still rise.
Soldiers in the Northeast say this policy is killing them. They accuse the government’s “repentant” fighters of leaking military secrets back to Boko Haram commanders.
“These men tell terrorists everything,” one soldier said. “They expose our weapons, routines, and even the location of our armoury.”
Despite this, the spending continues. In 2025 alone, N2.6 billion was used for “livelihood support” for the same ex-fighters. Official records show N758 million was spent between July and September.
Meanwhile, the real victims — girls and women abducted, raped, and enslaved by Boko Haram — are forgotten.
A new Amnesty International report reveals that one year after its #EmpowerOurGirls campaign, Nigeria has done almost nothing to help survivors. Many are starving, homeless, and without counselling or education.
“Not one survivor has received real reintegration support,” said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Director in Nigeria. “These girls are invisible to the government.”
Thirteen-year-old GP*, who escaped Boko Haram after her father’s murder, now sells firewood to survive. Another survivor, AN*, said she was flogged for trying to escape and now begs for food and shelter.
While billions flow to men who once terrorised the country, the children they destroyed still sleep in fear.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has warned that Boko Haram and ISWAP are regrouping. He admits the state has received over 300,000 “repentant” fighters. He also admits not all are truly reformed.
Security experts say the policy is backfiring. Insurgents keep returning to the battlefield. Soldiers keep dying. Survivors keep suffering.
And still, the money flows.
In a country where the victims beg for bread and the villains get millions, justice feels like the only thing that never gets funded.
The question Nigerians are now asking: who really deserves rehabilitation — the killers, or the children they left broken?
