Nigeria, April 12 -- When participants first encountered the preaching, it sounded like the truth. But reality soon diverged sharply from the promises the leaders of the terror groups made to them.

Their expectations before they joined the terror groups significantly differed from what they experienced after joining.

Their experiences were not obtained through a direct interview with former insurgents. They were recounted by the Radicalisation and Rehabilitation Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), Usen Archibong, during a phone interview with this reporter.

According to Mr Archibong, many participants described how religious messaging and visions of a better life initially drew them in. "The things they told us were not what...