TheCable

The Nigeria army says it has released 249 detainees who are not members of Boko Haram.

In a statement on Monday,  Sani Usman, army spokesman, said that those released were 169 men, 46 women and 34 children.

“Today, a total of 249 cleared suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices were released by the Joint Interrogation as approved by the Chief of Army Staff in Maiduguri. Those cleared and released include 169 males, 46 women and 34 children,” read the statement.

“Further breakdown shows that 203 of them were from 18 local government areas of Borno State, while 44 were from other states as follows: Adamawa two, Jigawa two, Lagos one, Oyo one and Yobe 38. However, two of them were from the republic of Cameroon.”

He said that the released persons were handed over to the Borno state government through its commissioner for local government by Victor Ezugwu, the acting general officer commanding, 7th division.

Usman added that the commissioner advised the released detainees to remain law-abiding and go about their lawful business.

“He also commended the effort of the military in the fight against terrorism and insurgency and respect for human rights as manifested in the painstaking efforts that led to their clearance and subsequent release. Each of them was given a token of N3,000 each,” he said‎.