The Kwara State Police Command has confirmed the successful rescue of seven kidnap victims in a joint security operation carried out on Wednesday, September 24, in a forest near Owa-Onire, Kwara State, after a fierce gun duel with the kidnappers.
The victims rescued include Adam Khadijat, a female aged 23; Mamud Miriam, 24-year-old female; and Mumini Ahmed, a male aged 17, all from Oko Community.
Others are Hamadu Haruna, aged 44, of Ajase-Ipo; Afusatu Alhaji Ladan and her nine-month-old son Usman Ladan, both from Omu-Aran Town; and Abibat Umaru, a 16-year-old female of Oke-Ode Community.
In a statement on Thursday, September 25, police spokeswoman in Kwara, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said that operatives, led by a security force attached to the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), in collaboration with police officers and vigilante group members, stormed the forest in a sustained search-and-rescue efforts launched in the wake of recent kidnapping incidents in the state.
“During the operation, security operatives encountered armed resistance from the kidnappers, leading to a fierce gun duel.
“The criminals were forced to abandon their hostages and escape deeper into the forest, while all seven victims were safely rescued.
“During the encounter, one vigilante personnel sustained gunshot injury, (but) he is responding to treatment.”
The PPRO stated that the Items recovered from the criminal’s hideout include three motorcycles and nine empty magazines of AK-47 rifles.
She added that the rescued victims had been reunited with their families.
The Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, who applauded the gallantry and resilience displayed by the team involved in the operation, assured that the Command, in synergy with other security agencies, will sustain aggressive onslaughts against criminal hideouts until perpetrators of kidnapping and banditry are brought to justice.
He urged residents to remain calm but vigilant and to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information to aid ongoing operations.
