‘I Regret Destroying My NCE Certificate’ – Former Female Boko Haram Member

Fatima Musa, a repentant Boko Haram member who was recently deradicalized and resettled in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno, has expressed deep regret over destroying her National Certificate of Education (NCE) when she embraced the extremist ideology of the group.

Speaking during a community dialogue in Maiduguri, organized by the Allamin Foundation with support from the British Government under UKaid, Fatima revealed, “I regret tearing my NCE certificate up when I made the mistake of accepting the twisted ideology that Western education was Haram.”

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the dialogue, aimed at fostering understanding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, brought together repentant insurgents and community leaders of Mafa. Fatima shared how she and many others were misled in their youth through a distorted interpretation of religion.

“We were misled as young people through the use of religion and later discovered that we went the wrong way after we were deradicalized by the foundation,” she said.

Now, having gained maturity and a deeper understanding of Islam, she hopes to reconnect with her father, who has taken refuge in a neighboring country, to seek his forgiveness for her past actions.

Another deradicalized woman, Bintu, also spoke at the event, pleading for forgiveness from the people of Mafa and highlighting the challenges faced by repentant insurgents due to stigma and harassment.

“If you keep telling people they are doomed, they’ll say since there’s no forgiveness, they had better go back and continue,” Bintu warned, urging for more support in reintegrating these individuals into society.

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The dialogue also saw contributions from local leaders, such as the Civilian Joint Task Force leader in Mafa, Babagana Butu, who emphasized the importance of empowerment programs to help the repentant insurgents rebuild their lives and contribute positively to their communities.

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