Nigerian army releases 244 suspects

Nigeria’s army released 244 Boko Haram suspects who have denounced their membership in the deadly extremist group, Nigerian army officials said on Tuesday.

Those released on Monday included 118 adult males, 56 women, 19 teens and 51 children, according to operation commander Maj. Gen. Rogers Nicholas, who said they were freed after participating in a deradicalisation programme.

One of the released women said she was accused of being a cook for Boko Haram and was held by Nigerian authorities for about a year.

Nigeria is trying to show it is making progress against the extremist group that has killed more than 20,000 people during its eight-year insurgency. Nigeria has arrested thousands of suspected Boko Haram members in recent years and is holding them in overcrowded military detention facilities.

Public release

The public release of the ex-Boko Haram suspects at the military barracks in Maiduguri was done to mark Nigeria’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day. Youthwere paraded at the event in Maiduguri, telling the state governor they have turned a new leaf and are ready to help provide the government with information.

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima commended the military on its ongoing efforts against Boko Haram.

Nigeria’s government set up a de-radicalisation programme in 2016 for arrested Boko Haram fighters who wanted to quit the group. The programme houses exBoko Haram insurgents in a military-controlled facility where they participate in exercises to rehabilitate them. They are granted amnesty if they denounce Boko Haram’s radical ideologies.