Army frees 42 Boko Haram suspects in Maiduguri

Forty two Boko Haram suspects were yesterday freed by the army authorities of 7 Division Army in Maiduguri and handed over to Governor Kashim Shettima.

The army also gave each of the freed suspect N100,000 to resettle themselves.
Three of the released suspects are Chad, Burkina Faso and Cameroon nationals. They will be repatriated immediately by the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) to their countries.

Presenting the freed suspects yesterday at the Government House in Maiduguri, the Deputy Director Army Public Relations Officer, Col. Sani Usman, said the suspects were arrested but have
been found to have nothing to do with Boko Haram.

He said: “Out of the 42 cleared suspects by the military this month, three are from the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Chad and Cameroon.”

Col. Usman urged residents to keep giving information on how to end insurgency. The Nation gathered that the released suspects include students, traders, carpenters, drivers and panel beaters as well as three elderly persons. The remaining 29 fall between the ages of 18 and 30.

Shettima, receiving them, announced that some of them would be immediately engaged in their various areas of trade.

“An idle mind, they say, is the devils workshop. Therefore, we cannot allow you people to be idle. From your introduction, some of you are drivers,
others are tailors some students. All the drivers would be immediately engaged by the state government and the tailors too will be useful for our free uniform for school children.