Army releases 249 Boko Haram suspects

Firstclass Newsline gathered that the Nigerian Army yesterday said 249
suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices, arrested by troops in
several mop-up operations, had been released on the orders of the
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai after being cleared by
the Joint Military Interrogation team in Maiduguri.
File: Rescued Boko Haram Captives
A statement by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani
Kukasheka Usman, said those cleared and released include 169 males, 46
women and 34 children.
Further breakdown shows that 203 of them were from 18 Local Government
Areas of Borno State, while 44 were from states of Adamawa, Jigawa,
Lagos, Oyo and Yobe with two, two, one, one and 38 respectively.
However, two of them were from the Republic of Cameroon.
The statement said: "The released persons were handed over to Borno
State government through the Commissioner for Local Government and
Emirate Affairs, Alhaji Usman Zanna by the Acting General Officer
Commanding 7 Division, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu. The two
foreigners were however handed over to the Borno State Command of the
Nigerian Immigration Service."
Speaking, the Commissioner advised the released detainees to remain
law abiding and go about their lawful businesses.
He lauded efforts of the military in the fight against terrorism and
respect for human rights as manifested in the painstaking efforts that
led to their clearance and subsequent release.
Each of released detainees was given a token of N3,000 each by the Commissioner.
In another development, troops of 101 Battalion, 7 Division Garrison
on patrol with some Civilian JTF, intercepted a suspected male suicide
bomber at Sabon Gari Jidari.
The suspect carrying primed Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs,
concealed in a blue stabilizer casing gave his name as Yusuf Tasiu.