The chief of army staff directed that those arrested be "released unconditionally if found not to have anything to do with insurgency or Boko Haram", said Brigadier General Abdulraman Kuliya. He added that the 593 who were freed comprised elderly people, men, women and children.

The military has arrested thousands in its fight against an insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria. The insurgency, now in its eighth year, has killed over 20,000 people and forced over two million from their homes.