Security
Why Boko Haram members would rather die than surrender — Criminologist
A criminologist, Dr Lionel von Frederick Rawlins, has claimed “dangerous” Boko Haram members would rather die than surrender to the Nigerian Army.
In an interview with Vanguard the Assistant Vice President, Security and Safety Operations, the American University of Nigeria in Yola said it’s normal for some Boko Haram terrorists to be surrendering.
According to the former US Marine, “Some people think that it might be a trick. They think that they are not really sincere in surrendering but I believe that”.
Commenting on the identity and personality of the Boko Haram members who have surrendered to the federal government, Rawlins said; “people who are surrendering are not the Boko Haram hardliners, ideologists, who believe in a caliphate”.
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“You must remember that up there, it’s wet, cold and damp; so it’s miserable living up there at this time. Apart from that, bombs are dropping on them daily and consistently, so if you are up there, you will feel very uncomfortable.
“People surrendering are those who were kidnapped and forced to fight or people who were taken by Boko Haram as 9-year-old kids who are now 15 years old and given guns to fight.
“Others are women like the Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu and others who were taken and forced to support the Boko Haram insurgency, so these are not the dangerous ones.
“The dangerous ones are those who believe in the ideology of Boko Haram. They are the ones that would rather die than surrender”.
