Army parades 26 repentant terrorists in Borno

The Nigerian Army paraded 26 repentant Boko Haram fighters to the public in Maiduguri, Borno State on Friday, February 2, 2018.

According to a report by Channels Television, the terrorists had surrendered to military authorities in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State last week.

They surrendered with arms and ammunitions that included rocket-propelled grenades (RPG).

They were interrogated by the military and then taken for deradicalisation.

Army released 244 suspects in January

In commemoration of the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration, the military released 244 suspects, who had been held in connection to involvement with Boko Haram, to the Borno State government on January 15.

The release of the suspects was approved by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, after a proper de-radicalisation process.

Of the suspects that were released, there were 118 men, 56 women, 19 under-aged, and 51 children.

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.

After a massive military operation resulted in the displacement of the group from its Camp Zero base in the infamous Sambisa Forest, it has resorted to suicide bomb attacks on soft targets and carried out daring attacks on military bases, with hundreds of captives still unaccounted for.