Nigerian Army Sets To Release More Detained Boko Haram Suspects

The military has confirmed that more people detained for alleged links with the Boko Haram sect will be released after being cleared by its joint intelligence cell.

Colonel Sani Usman, the acting director of army public relations

The Guardian reports that Colonel Sani Usman, the acting director of army public relations, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Thursday, September 10.

Colonel Usman said that the screening of detained suspects would be conducted jointly by intelligence officers from the Army and other security agencies.

“I can tell you that more persons will be released, but contrary to views in some quarters, the release of detained suspects is not the exclusive prerogative of the Army alone.

“So, it is not for anyone to begin to insinuate that the Army alone determines who is to regain freedom or not.

“What happens is that as the intelligence officers identify innocent persons, they hand them over to the affected state governments for rehabilitation and reintegration,’’ he said.

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The spokesman further stressed that the Nigerian Army would continue to take part in operations aimed at liberating areas held by the insurgents.

Speaking about the ongoing offensive against the Boko Haram terrorists, Usman noted that the frontline commanders and their troops were working toward actualising the timeline set by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The operation to hold on to territories taken by our troops will continue as troops advance to the general areas.

“Where we are actually going to from here cannot be disclosed for operational and security reasons but what remains clear to us is that we are making progress as evident in the recent areas held by our troops,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation the Centre for Crisis Communication has commended security agencies for adopting the current measures and “setting free innocent persons held in detention”.

According to Jude Emeje, the head of research at the centre, the move will boost the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East and the Nigeria Armed Forces’ human rights credentials.

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“The continuous release of persons absolved of complicity in the Boko Haram insurgency is a signal that the Nigerian Armed Forces are working in accordance with best practices.

“These people have been processed, profiled and found to be innocent, no matter what anyone will say they are free to go home.

“The timing is not the making of the military because these procedures are cumbersome and take time, especially when it has to do with terrorism, it is not done haphazardly, so people must understand,’’ he said.

Earlier this week, the Nigerian army handed over four foreigners and 124 Nigerians detained in connection with the Boko Haram terrorist group to Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno state.

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