Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has formally expanded its military surrender policy to cover non-state actors operating across every region of the country.
The framework, which previously focused primarily on bandits and insurgents in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central zones, now applies to armed groups active in the South-East, South-South, and South-West.
The policy shift follows recent successes under Operation Udo Ka in the South-East, where pressure from the Nigerian Army forced members of a local militant group to give up their arms. Troops from the 82 Division recovered an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, magazines, and four improvised firearms after an arrested suspect guided soldiers to the group’s hideout.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, confirmed that fighters across all regions were “welcome to surrender.”
Onoja assured that the military would process surrendered individuals “in line with international law and other Geneva Conventions” before handing them over to appropriate legal authorities. He added that operations strictly adhere to the Armed Forces’ “rules of engagement, International Humanitarian Law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Clarifying the timeline for the initiative, the defence spokesman stated that no deadline had been set, allowing fighters to step forward at any point. However, he warned that “military kinetic operation is being intensified” alongside the open offer.