Nigerian director of defence information Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade speaks
Army frees 42 Boko Haram suspects in Maiduguri
Posted by: Duku Joel, Maiduguri in News 29 mins ago
The Nigerian Army on Thursday freed 42 Boko Haram suspects and handed over to Governor Kashim Shettima.
The authorities of 7 Division of Nigerian Army in Maiduguri who effected the release of the suspects also gave each of them N100,000 to resettle themselves.
Chad, Burkina Faso and Cameroon nationals, who were among those freed, will be repatriated immediately by the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) to their countries.
Deputy Director Army Public Relations Officer, Col. Sani Usman, handed over the suspects to Gov Shettima at the Government House in Maiduguri.
He said the suspects were arrested but have been found to have nothing to do with Boko Haram.
“Out of the 42 cleared suspects by the military this month, three are from the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Chad and Cameroon,” he said.
Col. Usman urged residents to keep giving information on how to end insurgency.
In his remarks, Shettima said that some of them would be immediately engaged in their various areas of trade.
He said, “An idle mind, they say, is the devils workshop. Therefore, we cannot allow you people to be idle. From your introduction, some of you are drivers, others are tailors some students. All the drivers would be immediately engaged by the state government and the tailors too will be useful for our free uniform for school children.
“For the students, I am going to assist you to go back and complete your studies. Others will also be taken care of appropriately.”
The governor implored the freed suspects not to take vengeance against the military for detaining them and not to indulge in in anti-social activities.
“I urge all of you here today in this chambers released to me by the military not to engage in any anti-social activities. You should always exhibit good behaviours while you go about your normal activities in your respective towns and communities in this state,” he said.
