More than 300 people who had been kidnapped across Nigeria have been freed in an intelligence and security operation, the government has announced.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu warmly welcomes the successful rescue of 308 Nigerian citizens who were abducted in different attacks in Niger and Kwara states,” Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser to Nigeria’s president, said in a statement.
The statement said that 163 of those rescued were abducted from the Woro Community in Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State, and 145 were taken from Niger State.
“The victims were rescued from the Kainji Lake National Park Forest in New Bussa Local Government Area of Niger State”, according to the statement, as a result of a “coordinated, intelligence-driven operation”. The operation was carried out by the country’s National Counter Terrorism Centre, involving members of the armed forces, the police force and the Department of State Services.
Kidnapping for ransom by criminal groups, Boko Haram-linked fighters, and gangs known as bandits has become a major crisis in Nigeria, especially in areas with little state presence.
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