10 Corps Members Among 21 Rescued From Kogi Forest
Troops of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies have rescued 21 kidnapping victims, including 10 corps members, from forests in Kogi State.
The victims were rescued Monday during a joint operation in Egume and Ochaja forests following a mass abduction along the Alloma–Ejule–Itobe road.
The Kogi State Commissioner of Police said the operation remained ongoing, as security forces searched for other victims abducted during the attack on two buses.
According to Lt Hassan Abdullahi, Acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations, troops conducted a coordinated search after receiving credible intelligence about the victims’ location.
The operation involved the Army, police, Department of State Services, local hunters and vigilantes, who searched adjoining forests around Egume and Ochaja.
Abdullahi said the rescued victims comprised eight males and 13 females, adding that one male victim sustained a gunshot wound.
The injured victim was immediately evacuated to a medical facility, where he was receiving treatment for the gunshot wound.
Meanwhile, the rescued victims remained in military custody as security authorities prepared to hand them over to the appropriate authorities.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, commended the security personnel, hunters and vigilantes for their courage and cooperation.
The police said the rescued corps members were expected at the state police headquarters in Lokoja after their recovery from the forest.
The police commissioner added that another victim rescued during an earlier operation had been reunited with family members in Abuja.
