Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing Public Acceptance of Repentant Insurgents: An Empirical Study on the Reintegration of Rehabilitated Boko Haram Combatants in Maiduguri

Abstract

         The study examined the demographic and socio-economic variables of public opinion on reintegration of repentant Boko Haram fighters in Maiduguri, Borno State, under Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC) Initiative. The study was conducted using a mixed-method approach with 379 survey respondents and 16 key informant interviewees. The study found that sex, marital status, educational qualification and occupation were significantly associated with familiarity with OPSC (p <.001). Chi-square tests of independence indicated that the occupation had the strongest association with OPSC familiarity (χ2 = 984.18, Cramer's V =.930), followed by marital status (χ2 = 300.71, Cramer's V =.891), sex (χ2 = 279.49, Cramer's V =.859) and educational qualification (χ2 = 497.78, Cramer's V =.662). We also examined attitudinal factors associated with reintegration attitudes, such as familiarity with OPSC, perceived program effectiveness, and belief in peacebuilding potential. Qualitative research has shown that the main social factors that influence public perceptions are personal experience of violence, exposure to the media, religious interpretation, economic competitiveness and trust in government institutions. The paper also argues that reintegration efforts should move from uniform approaches to community co-designed programs that are demographically segmented and reflect the diversity of public opinion. The findings are discussed within the framework of the criminological theory of tagging and secondary deviance and have practical implications for counter-terrorism practitioners operating in active conflict settings.