ABUJA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is investigating at least 1,400 suspected members of the terror group Boko Haram who are currently held in a detention center in the country's northeast region, the military said on Tuesday.
A sizable number of the terrorists were intercepted, some were arrested while some willingly surrendered to troops in the volatile northeast region, Lucky Irabor, a military commander in charge of operations in that part of the country, told reporters.
"Investigation is still ongoing and I can assure you that many of the terrorists have owned up that they actually took part in the activities of Boko Haram," said the military commander.
He told reporters that some of the suspects will be arraigned soon.
According to him, a process of de-radicalization is underway, as part of the efforts to fully reintegrate some of the suspects into the society.
Boko Haram has been blamed for the deaths of more than 20,000 people and displacing of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since their insurgency started in 2009.
Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, in January.
