Air Force rescues 26 travellers kidnapped in Kaduna

Operatives of the special forces team of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have rescued 26 persons kidnapped along the Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.

The victims were rescued on Wednesday when the operatives were on a patrol in the area.

Edward Gabkwet, NAF’s spokesperson, in a statement, said the victims were traveling from Birnin Gwari to different places when they were abducted by three groups of bandits.

“Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Special Forces (SF) today, 12 January, 2022, rescued 26 kidnapped victims while on a fighting patrol along Birnin Gwari-Kaduna Road,” the statement reads.

“The rescue operation occurred when the SF came across 5 abandoned vehicles with their doors ajar near Anguwar Yako, an indication of forced removal or evacuation and likely kidnap scene.

“Acting on instincts, the SF began exploiting the general scene of the abduction and extended for about 3 kilometres radius well into the bushes while clearing the general area.

“Upon sighting the SF, about 3 kidnapped escapees suddenly came out from the bushes. Further search by the SF led to the discovery of 4 different groups of victims hiding in the bushes. After a thorough search further into the hinterland, a total of 26 victims were rescued.

“On interrogation, the victims who were traveling from Birnin Gwari to various locations including Kaduna, Minna and Kano, revealed that while en route, a large number of bandits in 3 groups suddenly appeared from the bushes from 3 different directions along the route and surrounded their vehicles.

“However, on sighting the SF, the kidnappers fled into the bushes with a handful of the victims while the other majority took cover and hid in the bushes until they sighted the SF.”

Gabkwet said the special forces team has extended its operations within the area with the hope of rescuing the remaining victims, while those rescued have since been moved to the 461 NAF Hospital in Kaduna for medical examination.