Nigeria releases 58 detainees with rebel links

Nigeria's military on Friday released 58 detainees believed to have connections with rebel group Boko Haram, who were arrested in Nigeria's troubled northeast Yobe and Borno states. In Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Spokesmen of the Joint Task Forces (JTF) in Borno Lt Col. Sagir Musa said 20 people were released in compliance with the defense headquarters' directive. "We're releasing 6 women and 14 young men to the Borno State government as directed by the defense headquarters," Musa said. In Yobe, JTF Lieutenant Eli Lazarus told Xinhua that the military was releasing 38 people. "They are 17 women and 21 children, and we hope the release will serve the purpose for which it was intended," said Lazarus. Yobe state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Ahmed Mustapha Gonori thanked the JTF for releasing the detainees. "They will be rehabilitated and integrated into the society. The government will give those released the needed trade so as to start up life afresh," Gonori added.