The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has pledged support
for Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), a federal government initiative focused on
deradicalising, rehabilitating, and reintegrating repentant insurgents.
The agency made the commitment on May 2 when Yusuf Ali,
coordinator of OSC, and his team, paid a courtesy visit to the NOA’s
headquarters in Abuja.
Receiving the delegation, Lanre Issa-Onilu, NOA director-general,
acknowledged “widespread misinformation” about OSC.
According to a statement on the agency’s X page, Issa-Onilu
said he hitherto had reservations about the programme due to limited
understanding, but now appreciates the initiative’s objectives and logic.
He described the programme as essential for national peace
and security.
The DG said many of the programme’s beneficiaries “were not
ideological extremists but victims of abduction, coercion, or manipulation
during insurgent occupation in the north-east”.
He noted the importance of community-based reintegration,
adding that without local and government support, many ex-insurgents remain
isolated and vulnerable.
Isaa-Onilu lauded the military and security agencies for
their efforts, while calling for increased public education to counter negative
narratives and promote national unity.
In his remarks, Ali harped on the need to address insecurity
through kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
The coordinator expressed concern about stigmatisation and
misinformation that hinder reintegration and national cohesion.
He said the programme has been running for nearly a decade
with support from UN agencies, state governments, traditional rulers, and
religious institutions.
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