The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) and local hunters has rescued 14 abducted persons in the Gauraka area of Niger State.
Niger State police spokesman Yusuf Mariam said the rescue was carried out during a joint operation at the Byhazin-Bwari axis.
“The Joint Operation led by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad combed the forest, engaged in a fierce gun duel with suspected kidnappers, dislodged them, and arrested two kidnap suspects while others escaped with bullet wounds,” she said in a statement issued on Friday.
Exhibits recovered from the kidnappers included two AK-47 magazines and cooking utensils.
The victims who appeared frail after several days in captivity are receiving medical attention at the police medical facility.
Mariam quoted the Commissioner of Police Bala Ciroma as reassuring FCT residents of the Command’s undeterred resolve towards the protection of lives and property within the area through a continuous partnership with sister security agencies and key community stakeholders.
A Region Battling Banditry
Banditry and kidnapping have become widespread in the northcentral state, raising concerns over the security of lives and properties.
In February, gunmen abducted scores of students from the Government Science College, Kagara in Rafi Local Government Area of the state but were released some days later.
Other northcentral states have had their fair share of assaults by kidnappers, leading to condemnations.
Residents, irked by incessant abductions and bandit attacks, recently blocked the Gonin Gora end of the Abuja-Kaduna Highway in Chikun council area of Kaduna State.
The protest followed the abduction of four people in Ungwan Auta in Gonin Gora by bandits.
The protesters, in their numbers, barricaded the busy road with stones and wood and vowed that nobody will pass until the state Governor Nasir El-Rufai addresses them.
