Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has firmly dismissed claims that repentant Boko Haram members were recruited into the Nigerian armed forces.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Irabor stressed that the structure of the Nigerian military makes it “almost impossible” for unqualified individuals to gain entry. He stated that such allegations have no factual basis and contradict the military’s strict recruitment procedures.
Drawing from his experience as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Force Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force, Chief of Defence Training and Operations, and later as Chief of Defence Staff, Irabor said he possesses firsthand knowledge of how the system works.
He clarified that critics often misrepresent the Operation Safe Corridor programme, which he described as a rehabilitation initiative for low-risk individuals who were either forced into terrorist activities or caught up in them unwillingly. According to him, beneficiaries of the programme undergo profiling, deradicalisation, skills training, and eventual reintegration into society—similar to correctional rehabilitation—not military enlistment.
Irabor emphasised that military recruitment involves multiple layers of verification, including biometric data capture, state-level scrutiny by recruitment officers, and confirmation from local government authorities. These procedures, he said, leave no room for former insurgents to infiltrate the armed forces.
“It has always been a burden for me, where we got this information from,” he said. “How can they be? That doesn’t exist.”
He noted that his years overseeing various military operations gave him full visibility over the system, making the claims entirely unfounded.
Regarding Operation Safe Corridor, he said:
“It focuses on those arrested for terrorism or banditry who are profiled. The low-risk individuals—those conscripted or unintentionally involved—are separated, deradicalised, taught skills, and reintegrated into society.”
Irabor maintained that entry into the military is heavily regulated and cannot be influenced by external assumptions.
“It is impossible for them to find their way into the military,” he said. “You can’t even be recruited unless your local government has sanctioned your participation.”