More than 90 people have been rescued after being kidnapped and held captive in several areas of Northwestern Nigeria- more specifically Zamfara’s Shinkafi and Tsafe districts.
Local police announced that separate operations were carried out Monday and authorities were successful in rescuing the 97 hostages which included babies, children, and pregnant and nursing women.
Police confirmed that among those rescued were seven pregnant women, more than a dozen babies aged between two-seven months old, and 16 children between the ages of two-seven years.
The regional police chief further stated that the kidnapped victims were found “stranded in the bush,” after being held incaptivity for more than two months.
The military operations targeted the hideouts of two kingpins known as Bello Turji and Ado Aleru.
Police say Aleru was a mastermind behind the kidnappings and both men have been linked to a string of kidnappings in the region.
Zamfara and its northwestern neighbors have been under siege for many months by marauding gunmen locally known as ‘bandits’ who have reigned terror and masterminded a series of kidnappings in the region.
“It was a collaborative effort between the state government, security agencies, and also the help given by some repentant bandits who have been helping the government in giving intelligence about the activities of the abductors that led to the release of the victims,” the senior state official Zamfara’sCommissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara said in an interview “No ransom was paid. ”
He also confirmed that the kidnappers were forced to abandon their victims in the Zamfara forest reserves after the government placed intense pressure on the bandits using multiple military raids and airstrikes.
The rescued hostages will be reunited with their families after they undergo medical checks.
