Twenty seven victims who were kidnapped by a group in the villages of Akawa, Gwashi, Tungar Rogo, and Anka and carried to bandit camps in the Gando/Bagega and Sunke forests in the state’s Bukkuyum and Anka Local Government Areas have been rescued by the Zamfara State Police Command.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the command’s spokesperson, SP Mohammed Shehu, said the victims’ rescue followed a report to the command that a group of terrorists had attacked various villages in the local governments of Anka and Bukkuyum and kidnapped an undefined number of people.
He said, “On receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kolo Yusuf, deployed additional police tactical operatives to reinforce DPOs of Anka/Bukkuyum and vigilantes in the rescue operation of the abducted victims.
“Luckily enough, a well-coordinated search and rescue operation was carried out with the full support and partnership of the two Sole Administrators of Anka and Bukkuyum local governments.”
He insisted that the rescue effort’s successful conclusion was the unconditional release of 27 abducted individuals.
Out of the 27 victims who had been freed, 17 had been taken to the Police Command’s headquarters, while 10 others were receiving medical care for the trauma they had endured while being held captive.
All of the victims, according to Shehu, have been debriefed by police investigators, and the CP will formally turn them over to the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, who will reunite them with their families on behalf of Governor Bello Matawalle.
The CP applauded Governor Matawalle for his encouragement and assistance of the police and other security organizations in their efforts to clean up criminal activity in the state.
The CP also complimented the victims on regaining their freedom and gave the public the assurance that police will do all in their power to capture criminal elements and bring them to justice.
