The Nigerian army has acknowledged that Operation Protected Hall is a nationwide safety technique and types a part of a broader, structured response to counterterrorism in Nigeria.
The army emphasised that the programme serves because the operational arm of Nigeria’s non-kinetic counterterrorism technique.
Addressing issues that the programme could also be perceived as lenient in the direction of former insurgents, the Coordinator of Operation Protected Hall, Yusuf Ali, mentioned:
“I perceive these issues, particularly from communities which have suffered deeply, and they’re legitimate and should be acknowledged with empathy and duty. Nonetheless, let me be very clear: Operation Protected Hall is just not about leniency; it’s about nationwide safety technique, and extra importantly, it types a part of a broader, structured method to counterterrorism in Nigeria.
“Whereas the army continues to use needed kinetic stress on terrorist and bandit {groups}, this programme offers a managed and structured pathway to disengage people from violence, cut back the combating power of those {groups}, and finally weaken their operational capability from inside.”
Common Ali defined that people inside rebel {groups} aren’t all hardened or ideologically pushed fighters.
“Not everybody inside these {groups} is a hardened or ideologically dedicated combatant. A big quantity… had been coerced, kidnapped, manipulated, or compelled into participation,” he mentioned.
He added that the programme provides a structured pathway for deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration, describing it as each a safety measure and a type of restorative justice.
“The programme is just not a blanket method… These assessed as high-risk, or who’ve dedicated prosecutable offences, aren’t merely reintegrated,” he pressured.
Based on him, eradicating such a pathway would lengthen battle and maintain recruitment pipelines for terrorist {groups}.
“If this pathway had been eliminated fully, many people would stay trapped inside violent methods with no incentive to give up… This may lengthen the battle,” he mentioned.
He maintained that Operation Protected Hall reduces violence, disrupts recruitment, and encourages defections whereas supporting long-term stability.
“It additionally displays the truth that fashionable counter-insurgency and counterterrorism can’t depend on power alone; they need to mix safety operations with rehabilitation, reintegration, and community-based restoration,” he added.
Common Ali famous that efforts are ongoing to strengthen screening processes, enhance transparency, and increase engagement with affected communities to take care of public belief.
By Linus Aleke
Times Nigeria