Repentant terrorists not in IDP camp - Army

The Nigerian Army has denied keeping repentant Boko Haram terrorists in the same camps with Internally Displaced Persons.

There are speculations that the surrendering terrorists are in the same facilities with the IDPs.But, the Director of Army Public Relations, Nwachukwu Onyema, in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, said the repentant insurgents were being held in different facilities.

He said, “The surrendered insurgents are not camped with the IDPs. These are two different categories of people. Surrendering insurgents are held in different holding facilities, not IDP camps.

“IDP camps are not even run by the Joint Task Force of Operation Hadin Kai. They are managed by other agencies of government. We only provide security at the exterior or outer cordon of the camp.”

Asked if the Army was satisfied with the reintegration of the repentant terrorists, Onyema said it was not in their purview to decide on that.

He said, “As a professional military, our role is to take them into custody, profile them and hand them over to relevant agencies of the state for further action.

“The military does not have the power to prosecute them. It is not in the purview of the military to prosecute or set them free. It will also be prejudicial to mete out any punitive measure on our part.”