Borno Government Spends ₦7.7 Billion On Boko Haram Rehabilitation In 21 Months

Borno State Government expended about N7.7 billion on the rehabilitation and reintegration of “repentant” Boko Haram members within 21 months, NaijaChoice News can reveal, even as deadly insurgent attacks continue to ravage the state.

Findings from the 2025 full-year budget performance document, exclusively reviewed by NaijaChoice News, show that N4.3 billion was spent on “livelihood support for Repentant Boko Haram members” in 2025 alone. Of this amount, N1.6 billion was disbursed between October and December, reflecting a massive surge in spending within just three months.

This figure adds to the earlier N3.45 billion spent between January and September 2024 under the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, bringing the total to approximately N7.7 billion.

The expenditure forms part of Governor Babagana Zulum’s widely publicised “Borno Model”, which has reintegrated over 300,000 former fighters, women and children since 2022 through vocational training, monthly stipends ranging from N20,000 to N45,000 and housing support. The programme was the seventh most expensive capital project in the 2025 budget, even surpassing some allocations for university teaching hospital upgrades and primary healthcare.

Yet, despite this huge investment, bombings and killings have not stopped. NaijaChoice News reports that no fewer than 23 persons were confirmed dead while 108 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in multiple bomb explosions that rocked Maiduguri on Monday evening, March 16, 2026.

The coordinated attacks struck three separate locations across the city – Monday Market, the gate of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Post Office Flyover area – throwing residents into panic during what many described as a normal evening.

Borno State Police Command spokesman, ASP Nahum Daso, confirmed the casualty figures in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“Following the devastating suspected suicide IED explosions that occurred at about 7:24pm on March 16, 2026, at (1) Maiduguri Monday Market, (2) University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital gate, and (3) Post Office Flyover area, Maiduguri,” the statement read.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the incidents were carried out by suspected suicide bombers. Regrettably, 23 persons lost their lives, while 108 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.”

Daso added that security agencies responded swiftly, with the scenes immediately secured and swept by the Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit. A combined team of police tactical units, the military and other operatives has since been deployed to the affected areas.

Victims were evacuated by the National Emergency Management Agency and the State Emergency Management Agency to nearby hospitals, where they are receiving treatment.

The police spokesman commiserated with the victims and their families while assuring residents of the command’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property.

President Bola Tinubu has directed top security chiefs to immediately proceed to Borno State for an on-the-spot assessment, while Governor Zulum described the attacks as “cruel and cowardly”.

As NaijaChoice News continues to monitor developments, many residents are asking whether the billions poured into rehabilitating repentant insurgents are yielding the desired peace or if more decisive military action is needed to finally end the insurgency that has plagued the northeast for over 15 years.