ADC Faults FG’s Plan to Reintegrate 800 Repentant Terrorists, Cites “Softness on Terror”
The African Democratic Congress has criticised the Tinubu administration’s plan to reintegrate almost 800 repentant terrorists into Nigerian communities, calling it “evidence that the government is soft on terror and clueless on security.”
In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said describing insurgents as “brothers” or “prodigal sons,” alongside the reintegration plan, “reflects a dangerous misunderstanding of terrorism as an existential threat.”
The party stated: “Terrorism is not a family dispute. It is not a moral metaphor. It is a sustained and organised campaign of violence against the Nigerian state and its people.” It added that responding with “policies that appear to prioritise rehabilitation ahead of accountability, is not compassion. It is weakness.”
The major opposition party argued that the government “appears eager to reintroduce insurgents… into society without first establishing clear processes for justice, without transparent standards for determining genuine repentance, and without credible safeguards to protect the communities they are being returned to.”
Abdullahi stated: “Reintegration without justice is not reconciliation; it is injustice. It is facilitation. It sends the wrong signal to victims who are still waiting for closure.”
The statement sought for clarity on who has been investigated or prosecuted, the basis for deeming individuals safe for reintegration, monitoring systems after release, and whether affected communities have been consulted. “In the absence of these answers, what is being presented as a strategy begins to look like abdication, if not collaboration,” the ADC said.
The party affirmed that its approach would treat terrorism as “an existential threat to the Nigerian state” rooted in “clarity, accountability, and competence,” adding: “Those who have committed grave crimes will face the full weight of the law.”
The ADC concluded: “National security is not a guessing game, and it is not a space for sentiment to override judgment.”
The Federal Government had not issued a response to the statement at press time.