Some 348 persons suspected to be members of the Boko Haram terrorists group have been cleared and released by the Nigerian Army in restive northeast Borno State, an official said Saturday.

The detainees were arrested in various anti-terrorism operations by the army in Borno, said Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division of the Nigerian Army.

Ezugwu said the detainees are made up of 114 adult male, 107 adult female and 127 children.

He handed over the detainees to the state governor Kashim Shettima at a ceremony in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno.

Ezugwu told reporters that they were being handed over after a painstaking process to ensure that they had no relationship with the terrorists group.

According to him, those suspected members of the group who have been found innocent are periodically released to continue with their normal lives as law abiding citizens of Nigeria.

Source : XINHUA