According to the Nigerian Army, its soldiers have freed 24 people who had been kidnapped from a site in Zamfara State.
The troops also killed some of their kidnappers during an exchange of fire, according to a statement released on Friday night by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations.
“Troops of 223 Battalion, operating under Sector 1 of Joint Task Force, North West Operations Hadarin Daji have rescued 24 kidnap victims, including a child,” he said. “This comes after a shootout with notorious bandits at Kabugu Lamba, an abandoned village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara state.”
The statement claims that during a firefight with the bandits, the forces, under the command of the battalion’s commanding officer, killed four bandits and rescued nine female and 14 male victims, among them a minor. It further claims that all of the rescued victims were taken away from the criminals’ hideaway.