Repentant ex-B/Haram members beg for forgiveness
Some repentant members of the Boko Haram sect on Wednesday pleaded with Nigerians for forgiveness over their past unwholesome activities.
They made the appeal while fielding questions newsmen during their graduation ceremony after a de-radicalization exercise and vocational training organized by the federal government.
The de-radicalization and vocational training took place at the former Permanent NYSC Orientation Camp in Malam-Sidi Town in Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe state.
A farmer-turned member of the sect, Bappah Mura, who hails from Borno state, said he was deceived into joining the group, only to realize that all they were told were lies, adding that he regretted all his actions while with the sect.
“I beg Nigerians for forgiveness. I regret totally what we were forced to do; it was not my intention, but I beg for forgiveness. I was a humble farmer before I was deceived to join Boko Haram.
All they told us were different from all we were made to do; they lied to me and deceived many of us.
“My heart bleeds, especially after our rehabilitation and vocational training that we were used to destroy lives and property by the sect.
But today, I am so happy that we have been trained and made to acquire skills in different ventures. I am grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari and the army,” he said.
He pledged to return to Bama, his home town and use his knowledge of the sect to expose their lies, so as to dissuade youth from being deceived.
“Today, I am graduating as a trained shoe-maker; I can make shoes of different brands. I am now an ambassador of peace,” he added.
Another ex-Boko Haram member, Abana Ali, 62-year-old said he was sorry for the things he did, noting that they were also terrorized while with the sect until the army rescued them.
“I am deeply pained in the heart that we had been associated with such a devilish group. I beg Nigerians to forgive and accept us back. We were deceived and forced to join the sect.
Because of my age, I was not allowed to partake in their operations, but was made to do menial jobs in their camps; we were also terrorized and enslaved, until the army rescued us.
