Troops from the Nigerian Army have successfully averted a kidnap attempt by a violent extremist and insurgent group in Tantatu Community in the Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State.
Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Tuesday also confirmed that the troops deployed in 1 Division area of responsibility in Kaduna have rescued 16 abductees in Tantatu.
“Responding to actionable intelligence, the troops on Sunday, 17 March, 2024 at about 10:30 pm swiftly tracked the insurgents who had earlier attacked the community in numbers and abducted some of the villagers as hostages,” said Nwachukwu.
“On arriving 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.”
Nwachukwu stated that the troops are still exploiting the bushes in continuation of the search and rescue operations.
According to the Army spokesman, the troops are still in operation in the Kajuru LGA of Kaduna State to extricate other victims and balk the nefarious activities of the insurgents.
Nwachukwu added that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja commended the troops for the successful rescue of the kidnap victims.
Lagbaja also charged them to remain vigilant as they conduct ongoing counter insurgency operations to liberate all troubled areas in Nigeria.
Terrorism in Kaduna State took another turn on Sunday after bandits were said to have kidnapped 87 people in a fresh wave of attacks.
The latest attack was said to have taken place in Kajuru-Station community in the Kajuru LGA of Kaduna State.
The rate of kidnapping in Nigeria has increased in recent times with states like Kaduna, Sokoto and Ekiti badly hit.
