Former Chief of Defence Staff, Retired General Lucky Irabor, has dismissed the common perception that repentant Boko Haram terrorists are being recruited into the Nigerian military.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, General Irabor, who wondered where people got that impression from, insisted that recruitment of repentant terrorists into the military “does not exist.”

“It has always been a burden for me, where we got this impression from. How can they be recruited? This does not exist,” General Irabor said.

He further explained that, having served at the top echelon of the Nigerian military for many years, it is practically impossible for repentant terrorists to find their way into the system.

“Before I became CDS, I was Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole. From there, I crossed over to become Force Commander, Multinational Aid on Taskforce. When I left, I became Chief of Defence Training and Operations, overseeing all that.

“And then I became Theatre Commander and later got appointed as CDS, a position I spent two and a half years in. How could it be? Where people got that impression, I cannot tell.”

“It is impossible. Besides, you can’t come into the military if those in your local government have not actually sanctioned you,” he added.

He noted that Operation Safe Corridor handles the deradicalisation of low-risk arrested terrorists and facilitates their reintegration into society.

While acknowledging inconsistencies in handling insecurity in the country, General Irabor rejected the notion that these challenges result from a failure on the part of security operatives.

He noted that there are gaps that need to be addressed to improve the fight against insecurity, chief among them being manpower and equipment.

The former military chief said that addressing insecurity is not solely about spending money, arguing that the volume of funds expended does not necessarily translate to efficiency.

He emphasized the importance of taking time to listen and understand the problems in order to address them effectively.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has officially launched the 50-oil-block 2025 licensing round portal, with a view to attracting fresh investments worth $10 billion.

The round is also expected to add approximately two billion barrels to the national oil reserves over the next decade.

The Commission Chief Executive, Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, said at a press conference on Monday, that 50 oil and gas blocks are on offer across onshore, swamp/shallow water, frontier basins, and deepwater terrain.

The breakdown of the blocks includes 15 onshore blocks, 19 shallow-water blocks, 15 frontier assets, and 1 deepwater block.

Engineer Komolafe noted that when fully developed, these blocks can deliver an estimated 400,000 barrels per day.

The NUPRC outlined the key objectives of the 2025 Licensing Round, which include boosting Nigeria’s reserves, increasing production capacity, expanding gas utilisation, and creating thousands of jobs across the value chain.

Other key objectives of the Round were listed as enhancing indigenous participation and reinforcing Nigeria’s commitment to transparency in line with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) principles.

The United States House Appropriations Committee will lead a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday focused on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria, committee officials announced.

According to a notice shared on Tuesday by US Congressman Riley Moore on X, House Appropriations Committee Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart will convene the session, joined by fellow Appropriators as well as members of the Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees.

Representatives from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and other experts are scheduled to participate.

According to the announcement, the purpose of the briefing is “to spotlight the escalating violence and targeted persecution of Christians in Nigeria.”

The roundtable will collect testimony for a comprehensive report “directed by President Trump on the massacre of Nigerian Christians and the steps Congress can take to support the White House’s efforts to protect vulnerable faith communities worldwide.”

Committee officials said the session will provide lawmakers with essential information on conditions facing religious minorities.

“The roundtable will gather critical testimony to inform a comprehensive report,” the statement noted.

The briefing comes amid strengthened US–Nigeria security cooperation.

President Bola Tinubu recently approved Nigeria’s team to the new US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, established to implement security agreements from high-level talks in Washington led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

The group, which includes senior ministers and security officials, aims to enhance counterterrorism efforts, intelligence sharing, border security, and coordination on humanitarian and civilian security issues.

The initiative followed rising concerns over terrorism, banditry, and targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria, prompting increased US scrutiny and warnings about the protection of vulnerable faith communities.