The government of Nigeria said it was expanding its deradicalization program, Operation Safe Corridor, to the country's North West region to tackle rising insecurity. The geopolitical zone comprises the states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

The North West has been locked in a decade-old conflict as criminal gangs, otherwise referred to as bandits, raid villages and run a large kidnap-for-ransom industry. They are known to sexually assault women, kill citizens, and tax locals across vast swaths of northern Nigeria.

Chief of Defence Operations Emeka Onumajuru, who represented General Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff, said the deradicalization program is "vital to breaking the cycle of

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