Troops of the fourth Brigade, Nigerian Army, under the second division, on Friday, July 31, rescued 14 abductees in Ovia north-east local government area of Edo state after responding to a kidnap attack along the Lagos-Benin expressway and pursuing the kidnappers into a nearby forest.
The assistant director, Army public relations, fourth brigade Nigerian Army, Benin City, Lt. Col. Kennedy Anyanwu, disclosed this in a statement, saying the operation followed credible intelligence received by troops on routine patrol at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 30.
According to him, the troops immediately pursued the kidnappers along their escape route, forcing them to abandon 11 victims before fleeing into the surrounding forest.
He said a follow-up clearance operation conducted on Friday, July 31, led to the rescue of the remaining three victims, bringing the total number of rescued abductees to 14.
Anyanwu added that all the rescued victims underwent preliminary debriefing and medical assessment, were confirmed to be in stable condition and reunited with their families or allowed to continue their journeys.
He said efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest the fleeing kidnappers.
The Army spokesman noted that the operation reflected the Nigerian Army’s operational readiness and intelligence-driven approach to tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes in collaboration with other security agencies.
He urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to support ongoing efforts to improve security across the state.
Meanwhile, the commander of the 4 brigade, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Balogun, commended the troops for their professionalism, resilience and courage, assuring residents and commuters that the Brigade would sustain operations to protect lives and property and deny criminal elements safe havens.
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