Nigerian Army has said there is no plan to release surrendered Boko Haram terrorists after rehabilitation.
The director army public relations Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, stated this while reacting to a report alleging a plan by military hierarchy to release terrorists who surrendered recently.
He explained that being a professional organisation,the Nigerian Army will process the surrendered terrorists and pass them over to prosecuting agencies.
He said “while the Nigerian Army (NA) does not want to be distracted from its main focus of dealing decisively with the threats against peace loving Nigerians, it has become necessary to put issues in their right perspectives.
“It is a known fact that in the recent past, over 1,000 members of Boko Haram and their families have surrendered to the troops due to the intense pressure from troops’ sustained offensive actions.
“Among those were key leaders of the terrorist group who have renounced their membership and have turned themselves in.
“The NA, being a professional military organisation, will continue to act in accordance with the dictates of the Nigerian Constitution, as well as international best practices.”
He said the NA will never encourage any act of lawlessness or extra judicial killings.
“Accordingly, all surrendered terrorists will be received, processed and passed on to the relevant agencies of government for further assessment in line with extant provisions.” he said
He stated that the ongoing Operation Safe Corridor is an outfit established by the Federal Government and not the Nigerian Army and, as such, “it is absolutely wrong to say that the NA will free repentant terrorists.”
He therefore appealed to the public to disregard the deliberate distortion of facts by the medium and continue to support the Army in order to rid the country of terrorism and other forms of insecurity.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, reiterated his admonition to all terrorist groups operating in the country to abandon their illegitimate cause and surrender to troops.
