Community perspectives of former terrorist combatants, militants and reintegration programmes in Nigeria: a systematic review

Abstract

Community perspectives of repentant terrorist combatants and militants alongside the trust accorded reintegration programmes are important for successful reintegration. This review attempt to fill a significant gap through the synthesis of evidence on community perspectives of interventions adopted to foster reintegration of former terrorist combatants and militants in Nigeria. Six databases including the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts, Web of Science, Scopus, Proquest and EBsco were searched. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Informed by the principles of thematic analysis and conceptual framework of synthesis, five themes emerged: (1) Design of reintegration programmes devoid of community consultation; (2) Scepticism towards the sincerity behind monetizing rehabilitation and reintegration programmes; (3) Resistance towards reintegration due to perceived favourable incentives provided to repentant combatants; (4) Lack of confidence in the genuine repentance of former repentant combatants; and (5) Lack of confidence in government's reintegration programme. The review recommends randomised controlled trials which incorporate context-specific community-centred interventions to encourage successful reintegration.

Rethinking reintegration in Nigeria: community perceptions of former Boko Haram combatants

“…Reintegration of what participants perceived as alleged repentant combatants seems characterized by the fear that these once extremists will harm members of the public due to their inability to reform from their previous behaviours. Similar findings were also reported in other studies in which fear and a lack of trust for former combatants were instrumental to communal resentment towards their processes (International Alert, 2017;Felbab-Brown, 2018;Ike et al, 2020).…”

“…While their study highlights an important aspect for reintegration, a gap in the literature still exist concerning how the reintegration of former combatants are perceived by Christian and Muslim communities, while drawing on the social identity theory to further demystify these perceptions. A recent systematic review within the context of Nigeria also highlights the gap in the design of specialized reintegration programmes that is often devoid of community inputs and thus fuels resentment towards the reintegration of former terrorists in Nigeria (Ike et al, 2020). Although the social perceptions of repentant former combatants may be negative, the input from the community level has the potential to improve positive attitudes towards reintegration programmes.…”

Evolution and challenges of DDR: A policy review through the prism of Colombia's DDR experience

“…Emerging research underscores that the success of ex-combatants’ reintegration into society is increasingly influenced by the quality of relationships they establish in their host communities, rather than merely financial assistance. This perspective highlights the key role of social integration, community acceptance, and relational networks in facilitating a successful transition from combatant to civilian life [ [70] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] ]. In Colombia, the vital role of social reintegration is evidenced by the fact that a substantial 97 % of former combatants surveyed identified active engagement in community life as a fundamental step toward their full reintegration [ 70 ].…”