Army frees 42 Boko Haram suspects in Maiduguri

42 Boko Haram suspects were on Thursday freed by authorities of 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Maiduguri and handed over to Governor Kashim Shettima.
The army also gave each of the freed suspects N100, 000 to resettle themselves.
Three of the released suspects are from Chad, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. They would be repatriated immediately by the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) to their countries.
Presenting the freed suspects at the Government House, Maiduguri, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said the suspects were arrested and had been “released because we found out that they have nothing to do with Boko Haram activities.”
“Out of the 42 suspects cleared by the military this month, three are from the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Chad and Cameroon.”
The Nation gathered that most of the released suspects are students, traders, carpenters, drivers and panel beaters.
There are three elderly persons among them, while the remaining falls between the ages of 18 and 30.
Governor Shettima while receiving the suspects announced that some of them will 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 and some are 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.
For the students, I am going to assist you to go back and complete your studies. Others will also be taken care of appropriately,” the governor said.