| Overview : Today, Nigeria stands at a critical juncture as it witnesses unprecedented waves of mass defections, whereby tens of thousands of men, women and children formerly associated with Boko Haram and ISWAP are surrendering themselves to state authorities –marking the largest wave of defections since the insurgency emerged in 2009. On one hand, these waves of defections present an unparalleled opportunity to dismantle and disintegrate these groups’ operational and recruitment capacity; while on the other hand, they pose significant challenges in handling this caseload; calling for an urgent need to reexamine and rethink existing approaches, and the extent to which they still hold resonance in the face of evolving and complex realities.
This ongoing development has further burdened and overstretched resources, institutions and officials who were forced to devise innovative solutions and responses – giving rise to the Borno State Model – to absorb such unprecedented numbers of surrendering individuals. Federal and state efforts have also been on the rise to deal with the mounting caseload of individuals, as well as incentivize even more defections. Yet, despite the considerable efforts exerted by Nigerian stakeholders at different levels of governance, challenges still persist at the policy and operational levels.
Against this backdrop, the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), in consultation with the Borno State Government, plans to conduct a Capacity Development Workshop on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE), in light of recent waves of mass defections from Boko Haram and ISWAP in Northeast Nigeria. As such, this capacity development workshop will be based on the African Union DDR framework as articulated in the AU’s Operational Guidance Notes (OGNs) and has a special focus on the SPRR framework. |
