We released 1009 cleared Boko Haram suspects, not ex-fighters says Army

The Nigerian Army (NA) has debunked a media publication alleging that it secretly handed over 1009 Ex-Boko Haram fighters to Borno state government.
Director Army Public Relations Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement Thursday, said the 1009 released are cleared suspects, not ex fighters.
He said they were released after being cleared by experts from the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) before being reintegrated into the society

Nwachukwu said: “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 1009 cleared suspects, not ex fighters, were therefore released after this rigorous process on Wednesday 14 July 2021.
“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.”