By Oluwatosin Maliki
Nigerian soldiers alongside local vigilantes have rescued a total of six people, who were kidnapped and held hostage by bandits in a forest in Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Quest Times gathered that the victims, all-male hostages, were rescued in good condition on Friday and had been reunited with their families.
This was according to a statement released on Sunday by Malam Yahaya Sarki, the Special Adviser to the state governor, Nasir Idris on Media and Publicity.
The statement read, “The victims have been reported missing, I mean kidnapped for some time now. Security operatives in the area comprising the army and the local vigilante were alerted and they swung into action inside the Shanga bush, luckily the victims were rescued by the security operatives,” he stated.
“Troops of 1 Battalion, Dukku Barracks, Birinin Kebbi in conjunction with vigilantes raided Kogon Damisa Hill around Saminaka in Shanga Local Government Area, a border town between Kebbi and Niger on Friday”.
“The team dislodged a large number of bandits and rescued six kidnap victims”.
“The victims had earlier been reported as missing, whereas they had been abducted a long time ago,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, he commended the bravery of the troops and the efforts put in to the success of the operation, while stressing the unwavering commitment of Kauran Gwandu’s led administration toward supporting the security agencies in the state.
Also, Sarki noted that marching orders have been given to all security operatives to deal decisively with any threat to the lives and properties of people in the tate.