Military rescues 21 kidnapped victims, including 15 NYSC members in Kogi

The Nigerian military has confirmed the rescue of 21 kidnapped victims, including 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in Kogi State.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, disclosed this on Monday while giving an update on military operations across the country.

Onoja said the victims, comprising eight males and 13 females, were rescued from the Egume-Ochaja forest stretch in the 2 Division area of operation.

He said 15 of the rescued victims were NYSC members who were among those abducted last week while travelling from Abuja to Bayelsa State.

The director said the military had also sustained operations against terrorists and criminal elements, particularly in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, following recent abductions in the area.

He said troops were collaborating with other security agencies and state government institutions through intelligence sharing and identification of areas requiring security intervention.

Onoja cited the rescue of 308 abducted persons, predominantly women and children, from Kainji Lake National Park on Aug. 5 as evidence of the security forces’ capacity to locate and rescue victims.

He assured residents of Borgu and neighbouring communities that military operations would continue until threats posed by terrorists and criminals were sufficiently degraded.

The general urged families of abducted persons to remain calm and avoid actions that could compromise ongoing rescue operations, stressing that credible information remained vital to the efforts of the security agencies.

He said the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, remained committed to rescuing abducted persons, protecting civilians and facilitating the return of internally displaced persons to their communities.

Giving an account of military operations in August, Onoja said troops neutralised more than 332 terrorists and criminals, arrested 373 others and rescued 610 kidnapped victims.

He added that 201 terrorists surrendered to the troops, while 88 arms and 2,077 rounds of ammunition were recovered during the month.

The military, according to him, also recovered 686,800 litres of stolen crude oil products and destroyed 21 illegal refining sites as part of efforts to tackle oil theft and economic sabotage.

Onoja attributed the operational gains to intensified kinetic and non-kinetic operations, improved intelligence gathering and enhanced collaboration among security agencies.