Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, has applauded the return of two Kaduna-based journalists kidnapped from their homes on the outskirts of Kaduna last weekend.
Bandits released two journalists, Abdulgafar Alabelewe of The Nation and Abdul Raheem Aodu of Blueprint newspaper, as well as their wives and children, on Saturday night.
The bandits had infiltrated the Dahono Community in the Millennium City section of Chikun Local Government section.
Alabelewe is also the current chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Kaduna State.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, Idris congratulated security services for quickly recovering the abducted victims after receiving them from Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser.
Mohammed expressed condolences for the two families and urged Nigerians to continue to trust President Bola Tinubu’s administration and security forces.
The statement read: “We are extremely grateful for everything you have done. We understand that this is part of your ongoing endeavour to ensure that all kidnapped victims are rescued alive and returned to their families.
“I want to urge Nigerians to keep faith with the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our security agencies. The security agencies under the coordination of the NSA are working tirelessly to ensure that all those who have been taken into unlawful custody are freed without paying any ransom.”
Earlier, the NSA stated in the release that the five victims were rescued due to a coordinated effort by security agencies, resulting in a swift search and rescue operation.
“Responding, one of the rescued victims, Alabelewe thanked the NSA and his team for the swift intervention.
“The rescue mission which brought us out of the bush yesterday gave us hope in our country and gave us confidence to believe that the government is serious about tackling this problem of kidnapping. I never thought that within a week of our kidnap, we could get out.
“We are grateful that the government swung into action and ensured that we were released,” the statement concluded.