THE Nigerian Army high command has refuted reports of the purported release of over 1,009 ex-Boko Haram fighters to the Borno State government, saying those released are not Boko Haram members.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Director, Army Public Relations, Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu.
Nwachukwu, while describing the report as false, urged members of the public to disregard it in its entirety. Nwachukwu, in the statement, said: “The Nigerian Army has been notified of a media publication alleging that it has handed over 1,009 ex-Boko Haram fighters to the Borno State government.
“The report also alleged that the event was shrouded in secrecy. This report, obviously is one of those attempts to dampen troops’ morale and denigrate the Nigerian Army, riding on the back of unsubstantiated report and misinformation.
“While the Nigerian Army would not want to join issues with the masterminds of this 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, while 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 1,009 cleared suspects, not ex-fighters, were therefore released after this rigorous process on Wednesday, July 14.
“It is also necessary to categorically state 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 Nigerian Army, 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.”
