Former members of Boko Haram have shared personal accounts of life inside insurgent camps, describing how coercion, misinformation, prolonged hardship and eventual disillusionment led them to abandon terrorism and surrender to Nigerian authorities.

The ex-fighters, currently undergoing rehabilitation in Maiduguri, Borno State, said they spent years in captivity before embracing the government's a non-kinetic initiative by the state government aimed at reintegrating repentant insurgents into society.

One of the former fighters, identified as Liman, said he never willingly joined the insurgent group. According to him, he was intercepted around Kross Kawa in northern  in 2014 while fleeing violence in Kukawa.

“I told myself one day that the life of a terrorist is a terrible one. So I quit, but escaping the camp wasn’t easy,” he said.

Liman recounted how recruits were subjected to ideological indoctrination upon arrival at the camps, including religious questioning based on the Qur’an before being assigned to different groups. He added that he lost contact with his family and later discovered that his parents and a brother had died during his time with the insurgents.

Another former fighter, Mohammed Ibrahim, said he was influenced by friends to join Boko Haram and spent over a decade with the group before regretting his decision.

“I would have done something meaningful with my life instead of engaging in violence for years,” he said, noting that his disillusionment with camp life eventually pushed him to surrender.

The former insurgents described life in the camps as highly restrictive, with limited freedom of movement and communication. They also alleged that leaders used misinformation to discourage surrender, including claims that the military would kill defectors.

A former cleric within the group, Malam Bashir, said he once worked closely with Boko Haram’s late leader, . He explained that disagreements over religious interpretations led to his detention and near execution.

“I was locked up in Sambisa and told I would be executed after Sallah,” he said, adding that he later regained freedom during clashes between Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Bashir also revealed that insurgents were repeatedly told that surrendering to authorities would result in death through execution or poisoning, claims he now describes as false.

Several ex-fighters said messages from family members, community outreach programmes, and testimonies from other former insurgents helped change their perception and encouraged them to return home.

One of them, Idrissa, said appeals from his mother and friends played a key role in his decision.

“I listened to my mother and friends asking me to return. I’m glad I did,” he said.

According to military authorities in Borno State, over 100,000 insurgents and their family members have surrendered in the past five years following the introduction of the Borno Model in July 2021.

Governor  has described the initiative as a community-driven approach focused on dialogue, rehabilitation, and voluntary surrender.

The governor’s Special Adviser on Security, retired Brigadier General , explained that the programme is built on three pillars: disarmament, demobilisation and deradicalisation.

He said participants undergo religious reorientation, civic education, and vocational training in skills such as carpentry, phone repairs, welding, and plumbing. Community leaders, clerics, legal practitioners and security agencies are also involved in the reintegration process.

So far, about 9,680 low-risk former fighters and their families have been successfully reintegrated into communities, with authorities noting improved acceptance due to community involvement.

“We no longer face rejection because community leaders are part of the process,” Ishaq said.

The programme has also enabled children of former insurgents to return to school. Idrissa revealed that his 10 children are now enrolled in school, a development that has reshaped his views on Western education.

Chairman of the North-East Civil Society Organisations Forum, Ahmed Shehu,    said the reintegration effort has contributed to peacebuilding in the region despite ongoing challenges.

“Looking at the broader security situation, we must find a way to forgive and reintegrate these individuals, or risk continued violence,” he said.