) The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has presented food and other items to the military for “Operation Safe Corridor Programme’’, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement signed by Mr Sani Datti, the NEMA Media and Public Relations officer, said that the materials were meant to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate 800 repentant Boko Haram insurgents.
The statement quoted the NEMA Director-General, Mr Muhammad Sidi, as saying that the initiative was in line with international best practices allowed those engaged in the fighting to voluntarily surrender and embrace peace.
He said that NEMA would play its role in the programme by providing regular support of food and non-food items for their upkeep, to enable them to undergo rehabilitation.
“Items to be released for this purpose every three months include 410 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans, 200 bags of millet, 200 bags of sorghum and 750 cartons of spaghetti.
“Others are 50 cartons of maggi cubes, 810 cartons tomato paste, 101kegs of vegetable oil, 101 kegs palm oil, 50 bags of salt, 100 bags of sugar, 420 cartons of milk and 420 cartons of milo.
“The non-food items are 800 pieces of mattress, 500 blankets, 500 pieces of nylon mats, 1,000 plastic buckets,1,000 plastic spoons, 1,000 plastic cups, 1,000 plastics plates, 1,000 plastic pairs of slippers, 2,000 men’s wear, 63 cartons of bathing soap and 1,000 bath towels.’’
Receiving the items in Gombe, the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brig.-Gen. B.M. Shafa said the initiative was designed to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repentant Boko Haram insurgents.
“The initiative was designed to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repentant Boko Haram insurgents who have come out to surrender to the military.
“The initiative will quicken the peace process in the North-East.
Shafa said that a good number of Boko haram insurgents had surrendered between September last year and February this year.
The statement said that 11 agencies of the Federal Government were directly involved in the Operation Safe Corridor programme.
(NAN)