The Nigerian military have released 593 detainees after they had been cleared of any association with the Boko Haram terrorists.
The Theater Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, handed over the detainees to officials of the Borno Government at a ceremony in Maiduguri on Monday.
Irabor, represented by Brig.-Gen. Abdulrahman Kuluya, said the release was based on the directives of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.
“The military have made several efforts at ensuring that peace returns to the North-East by conducting different operations.
“Lots of efforts have been made to get us where we are today,” he said.
Irabor said that some suspects were arrested in the course of the operations in the North-East.
“The Chief of Army Staff has always made it clear at different fora that all persons arrested in the course of the anti- insurgency war in the North-East will not stay a minute more than necessary.
“Persons either arrested by the military or arrested and brought to the military by another person will not be allowed to stay more than necessary,” he said.
Irabor explained that the detainees were released after they were cleared by the Joint Investigation Team of the military.
He said that they were handed over to the State Government for psychosocial support before final reintegration into the society.
Receiving the detainees, Mrs Ladi Musa, the Welfare Officer at the Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Center, thanked the military for the gesture.
Musa said the State Government had already provided enough facilities at the center for the rehabilitation of the detainees.
NAN