|By Chinwendu Nwani
The Benue State Government has revealed that some pregnant women abducted by criminal gangs and forced to serve as cooks are among the 400 local bandits who have signalled readiness to surrender and undergo rehabilitation before reintegration into society.
The disclosure comes amid mounting debate over the state’s plan to establish a rehabilitation centre for repentant bandits — a proposal that has drawn sharp criticism from residents who question the rationale behind reintegrating individuals linked to violent crimes.
Addressing journalists in Makurdi, Director-General of the Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, Josephine Habba, defended the government’s move and explained why it is seeking federal clearance to establish a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Centre.
Habba said the proposed facility is designed to rehabilitate individuals who were coerced into criminal operations, particularly those abducted and forced to serve armed groups operating in forest enclaves across the Sankera axis.
She lamented the sustained wave of insecurity ravaging Ukum, Logo, and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas, stressing that decisive and structured intervention remains the only viable path to restoring peace.
According to her, once the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, grants approval, the DDR centre will be sited in Logo Local Government Area and funded by the United Nations.
“We all know the story of Sankera,” Habba said. “Those abducted victims were often used as foot soldiers or compelled to carry out dangerous errands for those hiding deep within the forest.”
She disclosed that pregnant women were among those kidnapped and forced into domestic servitude for gang members.
“Even pregnant women were abducted and turned over to their cooks. The number of people from the biometrics we have done is over 1,800, but 400 are willing to be rehabilitated,” she stated.
Habba clarified that many of those profiled were not hardened criminals but victims forced to carry out assignments for bandits who feared being identified if they emerged openly.
“These persons are not necessarily criminals but were taken in to do dirty jobs for those in the forest because they know that if they (local bandits) come out, they would be recognised, so they needed foot soldiers,” she explained.
She further disclosed that the Commission has finalised a comprehensive reintegration framework, which will be unveiled at a peace summit scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
The framework, she said, will ensure structured rehabilitation, graduation, and certification of beneficiaries as part of efforts to reintegrate them productively into society and dismantle the cycle of violence in Benue’s troubled communities.
