Ex-Boko Haram fighters deradicalized, but still unreconciled

When Ibrahim Dubji began the journey home to Gwoza in 2017, he was bubbling over with conflicting emotions.

There was the joy that his daughter was getting married – and the dread of seeing neighbors who had lost loved ones to Boko Haram. Mr. Dubji had fought for the terror sect for years after being conscripted, he says. But in the past few months, he had completed a state-sponsored deradicalization course. He was returning a new man.

The people of Gwoza thought otherwise. At the entrance of the fragile town, devastated from years of raids and brutal attacks, soldiers positioned at the gates arrested and questioned him: Why had he come back? Was he still a fighter? After a night in detention, Mr. Dubji was thrown out of Gwoza, away from his daughter’s wedding, the house he built, and his family.

“They told me I won’t enter even though I provided evidence that I have been cleared,” says a still-stunned Mr. Dubji. He sits on a mat in the camp for people who have

From combatants to clientsFunds for survivorsJustice, then forgiveness