1,400 Repentant Boko Haram Members Released Into The Society

1,400 repentant Boko Haram suspects have been rehabilitated and released into the society by the military in Borno State.

The Borno State government disclosed that this was done under the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ programme.

Speaking on Monday, the Borno State Commissioner for Information, Babakura Jato, said the suspects had been released in three tranches since the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ programme began.

He however further explained that those released were not actually Boko Haram members or fighters but individuals found in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In his words, “There have been a series of releases. They were released in three tranches. The first set was released during Governor Shettima’s time while two sets have been released under Prof. Zulum.

“The total number of persons released is 1,400. Out of the 1,400, the majority of them are cleared suspects. These were people who were suspected of being members of Boko Haram and it was discovered that they were not.

“The rest are children of Boko Haram or actual Boko Haram members. I cannot give you a breakdown of the figure now for security reasons,” Punch quoted him as saying.

Answering questions on the probability of some of those released going back terrorism or getting rejected by their community, the commissioner said allegations that some of those released had gone back to terrorism were mere speculations.

He added that if any person was rejected by his community for being a former Boko Haram member, the government would resettle that person.

“I have not heard of that but we have had cases whereby people in the community rejected them. So, they return to the rehab centres and we change their location,” he said.

Meanwhile, Naija News recalls that a recent attack by Boko Haram terrorists on Borno State has resulted in the death of at least 30 persons while no less than 18 vehicles were also completely burnt.

The insurgents launched the attack against travelling passengers in Auno, a town 20 kilometres from Maiduguri, Borno state capital on Sunday.