Repentant Boko Haram and Iswap terrorists beg Nigerians to forgive them for their crimes

HUNDREDS of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) fighters who recently surrendered to the military in Borno State have asked the Nigerian people to forgive them for their past heinous crimes.

Recently, the former terrorists surrendered to the Nigerian Army along with their families in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. Yesterday, they appeared with placards asking members of the public to forgive them for their past deeds and allow them to return to society following their renunciation of violence.

Among those who surrendered is the chief bomb expert of the terrorists Musa Adamu, also known as Mala Musa Abuja. He and his second-in-command Usman Adamu, also called Abu Darda, were among those who surrendered to the Nigerian military in Bama along with the members of their families.

During the reception ceremony, some of the top commanders of the terrorist group displayed placards soliciting forgiveness from Nigerians. Some of the placards carried inscriptions such as Nigerians Please Forgive Us, Surrender and Be Freed, Borno State Remains the Home of Peace.

Nigerian Army spokesman Brigadier Onyema Nwachukwu, said the surrendered terrorists and their families numbered 335 fighters and 746 adult women and children including one of the abducted Chibok girls. Brigadier Abdulwahab Eyitayo, the acting general officer commanding the Seventh Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, received the repentant terrorists at the headquarters of the 21 Special Armoured Brigade in Bama.