Troops of the Nigerian Army, I Division, rescued 16 abducted victims in Kajuru, Kaduna State.
They also avoided a kidnapping attempt by an extremist organisation.
“The Nigerian Army troops deployed in the 1 Division area of responsibility in Kaduna State have successfully averted a kidnapping attempt by a violent extremist and insurgent group and rescued the abductees in Tantatu Community of Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State,” said Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, in a late Monday statement.
According to him, the military were responding to intelligence on Sunday night when they tracked down the insurgents who had kidnapped several people in the area.
“On arriving at the scene of the incident, the troops tenaciously pursued the insurgents, engaging them in a ferocious exchange of fire and consequently rescuing 16 kidnapped victims,” the statement read.
“The troops are still exploiting the bushes in continuation of the search and rescue operations to extricate other victims and balk the nefarious activities of the insurgents.”
Following the rescue, the Chief of Army Staff Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja lauded the troops for the successful outing and charged them to remain vigilant in the conduct of ongoing counter-insurgency operations to liberate all troubled areas in the country.