The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has promised to support Operation Safe Corridor, OSC, a Federal Government initiative focused on deradicalising, rehabilitating and reintegrating repentant insurgents.
The agency made the pledge when the coordinator of OSC, Yusuf Ali, and his team paid a courtesy visit to the NOA’s headquarters in Abuja.
NOA Director-General, Lanre Issa-Onilu, while receiving the delegation, acknowledged what he called widespread misinformation about OSC.
In a statement on the agency’s X page, Issa-Onilu said before now, he had reservations about the programme due to limited understanding, but now appreciates the initiative’s objectives and logic.
The NOA’s boss described the programme as essential for national peace and security.
According to him, many of the programme’s beneficiaries were not ideological extremists but victims of abduction, coercion or manipulation during insurgent occupation in the North-East.
Issa-Onilu stressed the importance of community-based reintegration, adding that without local and government support, many ex-insurgents remain isolated and vulnerable.
The NOA DG commended the military and security agencies for their efforts, while calling for increased public education to counter negative narratives and promote national unity.
Ali, in his remarks, 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.
