The Bloody Business: How Nigeria’s Terrorism Industry Became Too Big to Fail
If the Nigerian government truly wanted to end the insurgency that has bled this nation dry for nearly two decades, the cemeteries would be full of terrorists, not the IDP camps. Instead, we are witnessing the institutionalization of what can only be described as Nigeria’s terrorism industry. From the extraction of “repentant” Terrorist via private jets to the distribution of monthly stipends to men who once held the “kill-knife,” the message from the State House is clear: In Nigeria, crime doesn’t just pay, it earns you a VIP seat at the table.
Operation Sulhu: The VIP Treatment of Mass Murderers
The outrage began under the Buhari administration with Operation Sulhu. While the average Nigerian struggled to afford a bag of rice, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military were reportedly extracting high-ranking Boko Haram commanders in operations that looked more like corporate headhunting than counter-terrorism.
We saw reports of terrorists being moved in high-end transport, housed in safe houses, and given “soft landings.” This wasn’t justice; it was a recruitment drive. By treating these men as “assets” rather than war criminals, the government effectively told every young man in the forest that the quickest way to a government paycheck is through a rifle.
From Buhari to Tinubu: A Continuity of Compromise
When President Tinubu took the oath of office, he vowed to “continue from where Buhari stopped.” For many, this was a chilling promise. It meant the continuation of Operation Sulhu and Operation Safe Corridor, programs that has seen thousands of “repentant” fighters released back into society without ever facing a courtroom.
If the government valued Nigerian lives, the “rehabilitation” would happen behind bars, not in taxpayer-funded villas. The cold data confirms this systematic betrayal: from the 244 suspects released in 2018 and the 601 set free in 2020, to the 2,100 cleared in 2023 and the 5,000 combatants recently reunited with their families in early 2025. In total, an estimated 38,000 insurgents have been funneled back into our communities, an outrageous figure that matches the active Military Personnel of several countries. If these thousands of “repentant” combatants had been executed or imprisoned according to the gravity of their crimes, this insurgency would have been curbed years ago. Instead, the policy of appeasement has created a vacuum where justice is a myth and “repentance” is a business strategy.
The “Presidential” Aspirations of Terrorists?
Perhaps the most stinging slap in the face to victims was the infamous statement by an Army spokesperson, suggesting that “repentant” terrorists could one day rise to become the President of Nigeria.
“Even a repentant terrorist has the right to aspire to any position in the country, including the Presidency.” — A sentiment that summarizes the moral decay of our current security policy.
While the victims of these men are rotting in shallow mass graves or languishing in IDP camps with no hope for the future, their killers are being groomed for “reintegration” and potential political power. This isn’t just a failure of policy; it is a total inversion of morality.
Attracting “Investors” to the Terror Sector
When you reward a behavior, you get more of it. By making terrorism a lucrative venture where surrender leads to compensation and “graduation” leads to stipends, the Nigerian government has invited “investors.”
This is why we see the proliferation of “Bandits,” “Ansaru”, “Lakurawa”, and various splinter groups. They have seen the success of Nigeria’s terrorism industry. They know that the government is more likely to buy them a motorcycle and a house than it is to send a drone to their camp.
A Peace Built on Graves
The “peace” being bought through Operation Sulhu and the Borno Model is a hollow one, built on the silence of the dead and the tears of the displaced. By opting for appeasement over accountability, the government has told victims their lives are worth less than the cooperation of their killers. When you grant a “soft landing” to those who masterminded massacres, you don’t end a war; you merely subsidize it.
Until the government prioritizes Justice over Reintegration, this “industry of blood” will only grow. We have seen the numbers: while the military verbally celebrates “neutralizing” tens of thousands, the administrative back-door has released from the 244 in 2018 to the 5,000 in 2025.
Buhari may have pioneered this path, and Tinubu may be walking it, but it is the Nigerian people who are paying the toll, with their lives. To call this “rehabilitation” is a mockery; it is a surrender of the state’s moral authority. Until the gallows for the guilty outnumber the villas for the “repentant,” Nigeria will remain a captive to the very industry it continues to fund.
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