Nigeria, April 17 -- Nigeria is intensifying its non-military response to insurgency, with 744 former fighters and victims of violent extremism completing a federal deradicalisation and reintegration programme under Operation Safe Corridor.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, said the initiative reflects a broader strategy that combines military pressure with rehabilitation efforts to curb the spread of extremist ideologies and stabilise affected communities.

Mr Oluyede, an army general, who was represented by Kabiru Tanimu, a rear admiral and Director of Special Operations Forces at the Defence Headquarters, spoke on Friday at the graduation ceremony held in Gombe.

He said the programme was designed not as a reward for wrongd...