Army: 760 cleared Boko Haram suspects released to Borno

The army says it has released 760 suspected Boko Haram members to the Borno state government.

Onyema Nwachukwu, deputy director, army public relations, theatre command of Operation Lafiya Dole, said this in a statement on Friday.

Nwachikwu said the suspects were handed over to the government at the Bulunkutu state rehabilitation centre, Maiduguri for reintegration into the society.

He said they were arrested in the course of the anti-insurgency efforts in the north-east.

He said the suspects were cleared after interrogations and investigations were conducted by the joint intelligence centre (JIC) of the theatre command.

“The JIC has cleared 760 suspects. The crackdown on Boko Haram terrorists is yielding positive results, culminating in significant reduction in terrorists’ activities in the north-east,” the statement quoted Abdulrahman Kuliya, JIC coordinator, as saying.

NAN further reports that Kuliya urged members of the public to provide useful information to security agents on suspicious activities in their area.

The Boko Haram insurgent group has carried out several attacks in the north-east particularly in Borno.

Thousands of suspected members of the sect are currently in several military detention camps across the country.

Recently, there has been intensified efforts by the army and other security agencies to clamp down on the activities of the sect, especially with increased arrests of the insurgents.