Niger to transfer 500 Boko Haram prisoners to Nigeria

Niger has agreed to transfer hundreds of prisoners from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram back to  Nigeria to reduce pressure on its crammed prisons,Reuters reports.

"Nigeria sent a working group here (to Niger) last week and the two sides have established an initial list of 500 detainees who will soon be transferred to Nigeria," said a magistrate working on the case who asked not to be named.

He did not give the exact timing of the transfer or say how the potentially dangerous prisoners would be transported.
The prisoners are currently being held in the detention centers of Kollo, Diffa and Koutoukale, all of which are overpopulated due to arrests of Boko Haram militants, a justice ministry source said.