Nearly 10,000 former Boko Haram fighters have been reintegrated into society through a government-backed rehabilitation and deradicalization program in Nigeria’s Borno State, officials announced.

The milestone was marked as 720 former insurgents graduated from a reintegration center in Maiduguri, Borno’s capital, during a ceremony attended by state officials.

With this latest cohort, authorities in Borno now report a total of 9,680 former fighters who have transitioned back into civilian life under the program.

The initiative forms part of Nigeria’s broader strategy to weaken jihadist groups operating around Lake Chad by encouraging defections and peaceful reintegration.

Videos from the ceremony showed hundreds of former fighters gathered at the reintegration facility, where participants took oaths and were formally discharged from the program.

Boko Haram’s insurgency, now in its second decade, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions across Nigeria and neighboring countries. While military operations have significantly degraded the group’s capabilities, armed factions continue sporadic attacks in parts of the region.

State authorities emphasize that rehabilitation and reintegration efforts remain critical to ending the conflict and fostering long-term stability in communities ravaged by years of violence.