The Federal Government has launched new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to guide its Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme for repentant terrorists, while stressing that those accused of serious crimes will still be prosecuted.
The procedures were unveiled on Monday during a national validation workshop in Abuja. They are expected to improve transparency, accountability and coordination in the implementation of the DDR programme. The workshop also approved state-level SOPs for Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara.
National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Adamu Laka, said the guidelines were developed after wide consultations and were based on Nigeria’s experience, international best practice and the country’s security realities.
He explained that the SOPs would clearly define the responsibilities of government institutions, strengthen cooperation among agencies, standardise operations and ensure that the programme respects human rights and the rule of law.
Laka said military operations alone could not bring lasting peace, describing the DDR programme as an important part of Nigeria’s non-military strategy to tackle insecurity.
He said consultations across the six geopolitical zones showed strong support for a nationally coordinated and community-driven DDR framework. According to him, participants identified terrorism, violent extremism, banditry, communal violence, farmer-herder clashes, organised crime and separatist violence as major security threats requiring coordinated action.
Director of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism at the NCTC, Abimbola Wońosikou, said the SOPs were designed to create a more coordinated national response to terrorism and other forms of armed violence.
She said state DDR committees had already been established in Kaduna, Katsina
