The Nigerian military have released 1,009 ex-Boko Haram terrorists, who had been in military custody at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State ca
The Nigerian military have released 1,009 ex-Boko Haram terrorists, who had been in military custody at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The former terrorists were on Wednesday handed over to the Borno State Government in a secret ceremony that was initially billed to take place at an earlier date but was suspended indefinitely by the military authorities at the wake of the appointment of the new COAS.
Punch reports that the ex-terrorists were handed over to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, who represented the state government at the event.
“The army handed 1,009 Boko Haram insurgents to the state government today (Wednesday). It was done in secret. We were warned not to allow journalists to the venue,” an officer who craved anonymity said.
This isn’t the first time Boko Haram terrorists would be released back into the society.
In February 2020, some soldiers at the war front in the north-east expressed disappointment over the release of 1,400 ”repentant” Boko Haram terrorists.
The terrorists were released in three tranches via the Operation Safe Corridor programme, an initiative for the deradicalisation and rehabilitation of all ex-Boko Haram members.
But soldiers who were deployed to the war front to fight against these terrorists said they did not understand why suspected Boko Haram members were being released in large numbers.
“The authorities are releasing them, but Boko Haram are killing soldiers that they capture. This does not make sense to us at all. We continue to sweep across the bushes to flush these people out, and then the government will release them. Does that not amount to wasted efforts?”
Another soldier said he believes most of the released suspects find their way back to crime.
“You wonder why Boko Haram members are on the increase? When we arrest them and bring them here, some top people would come and start negotiating their release. But, I will tell you some of these so-called suspects are returning to the bush and they were never repentant.”
