On Monday, April 16, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, shared that so far, the Tinubu-led government has rescued about 1,000 victims from bandits without paying a dime.
Recall that on September 22, 2023, bandits invaded the Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State, and abducted about thirty (30) students and staff members. The police shared, “On that day, at about 0250 hrs, suspected bandits, riding on about 50 motorcycles, armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded three students’ rented apartments in Sabon Gida Village near the Federal University, Gusau, and kidnapped an unspecified number of students, taking them to an unknown destination.”
In March, 137 students from Kaduna State went missing. Despite the criminals’ demand for N1 billion, the Federal Government stated that they received no ransom. However, on Sunday, the National Security Adviser received twenty students out of the thirty originally abducted. The National Counter-Terrorism Centre orchestrated an operation on Sunday that resulted in the rescue of twenty-two individuals, including fifteen university employees and seven students. As it greeted the students in Abuja, the NSA expressed gratitude to the security personnel for rescuing them “without losing a single one or having to pay a ransom.”
He noted, “On behalf of the President, I thank all those involved in the successful rescue of the victims without losing any of them or paying any ransom. This is yet again a success story in our efforts to free all those being unlawfully held in captivity. “ We have so far released over a thousand such victims without noise and with complete respect to their privacy and safety. This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions. Going forward, we are strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent these abductions and strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities.”
By Chidimma NWAFOR
