We didn’t release 1009 ex-Boko Haram fighters to Borno govt – Army

The Nigerian Army has described as “false” a viral report that it released and handed over more than 1009 ex-Boko Haram fighters to the Borno State Government.

The army refuted the report through a Thursday statement signed by Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu.

He said that the Army did not release ex-Boko Haram fighters, as claimed in the report, but terrorism suspects that had been cleared of any involvement in the act through a “rigorous process”.

Nwachukwu said the report also alleged that the event was shrouded in secrecy.

According to him, the report was “obviously” one of those attempts to dampen troops’ morale and denigrate the Nigerian Army, based on unsubstantiated report and misinformation.

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According to him, while the Nigerian Army will not want to join issues with the masterminds of the “false narrative”, it is important to set the records straight.

“It is an indisputable fact that the ongoing Counter Terrorism Counter Insurgency Operations (CTCOIN) in the North East has led to the arrest of several terrorism/insurgency suspects.

“These suspects have been held in custody, while undergoing profiling and further investigations by experts from the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) and those who are found culpable are usually handed over to prosecuting agencies accordingly.

“Those who are not implicated in terrorism and insurgency are cleared and released to the state government for rehabilitation before they are reintegrated into the society.

“These cleared suspects are therefore not ex Boko Haram fighters, as peddled in the said online report and as the masterminds would want to impress on the public.

“A total of 1009 cleared suspects, not ex fighters, were therefore released after this rigorous process on Wednesday, July 14,” he said.

Nwachukwu the said that the handing over of the cleared suspects was not shrouded in secrecy as it was witnessed by United Nations Humanitarian and government agencies in tandem with global best practice.

“The NA therefore urges the general public to discountenance this misinformation, as it is evidently a manipulation and distortion of the truth and reality of the event,” he said.