Another attempt to abduct en masse residents of Tantatu Community in the Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State has been foiled by troops of the Nigerian Army.
The latest kidnapping attempt follows the successful abduction of 87 residents of Kajuru-Station also in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
In a statement by Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, said alert troops of the 1 Division, Nigerian Army responded to the distress call and foiled the attack.
The statement reads: “Nigerian Army troops deployed in 1 Division area of responsibility in Kaduna State have successfully averted a kidnap attempt by a violent extremist and insurgent group and rescued the abductees in Tantatu Community of Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“Responding to actionable intelligence, the troops on 17 March 2024 at about 10:30pm swiftly tracked the insurgents who had earlier attacked the community in numbers and abducted some of the villagers as hostages. On arriving at the scene of the incident, the troops tenaciously pursued the insurgents, engaging them in a ferocious exchange of fire and consequently rescuing 16 kidnapped victims. The troops are still exploiting the bushes in continuation of the search and rescue operations to extricate other victims and balk the nefarious activities of the insurgents.
“The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja commended the troops for the successful rescue of the kidnap victims and charged them to remain vigilant as they conduct ongoing counter insurgency operations to liberate all troubled areas in the country.”