Zamfara, troops free 17 abduction victims and retrieve cattle

According to the Nigerian Army, Operation Hadarin Daji troops have recovered many stolen animals and freed 17 kidnap victims in Zamfara State.

Captain Yahaya Ibrahim revealed this in a press release on behalf of Force Information Officer, Operation Hadarin Daji.

He claims that on September 14, 2023, the army responded to a distress call, stopped a kidnapping attempt, and freed two victims as well as a food delivery truck in Zamfara State’s Shinkafi Local Government Area (LGA).

On a routine patrol, forces stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Danjigba, he said, intercepted and freed three kidnapping victims.

The victims were taken from their farms and held captive in the Dangajeru forest, according to the statement’s early findings.

Furthermore, on September 13, 2023, soldiers from Operation Hadarin Daji in Zamfara State apprehended and freed eight abduction victims at Baggega.

The victims were found to have been held captive for eight weeks; nonetheless, they managed to escape from the Gando Forest thanks to a recent offensive operation and a constant fighting patrol along the forest’s edges.

“Similarly, on September 12, 2023, acting on intelligence inputs on bandits moving a big number of rustled livestock near Tsamiyar Gezozi in Zamfara state’s Anka LGA. According to the statement, Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) troops stationed at Anka sprang into action at the crossing route and engaged the bandits with superior fire, forcing them to flee and abandon over 130 rustled animals.

The retrieved animals, according to the statement, were given to the proper authority for delivery to the respective owners.

“On 11 September 2023, following a distress call regarding the kidnapping of persons by armed bandits at Bunkasau village in Bukkuyum LGA of Zamfara State, troops swiftly mobilised to the village and forced the bandits to abandon the victims and flee in disarray, while four male victims were rescued unharmed,” the statement continued.

Ibrahim said that the recovered animals were sent to the Zamfara State Committee on Recovered animals, while all of the rescued abduction victims were safely reunited with their families.

The commander of Operation Hadarin Daji and Major General Godwin Mutkut, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 8 Division Nigerian Army, praised the soldiers for their efforts in recovering kidnap victims and urged them not to lose heart.