76 victims rescued from bandits in Kaduna: Police
Police and military operatives foiled an attempted kidnap of 76 persons along the Funtua-Zaria Road in Kaduna, said police spokesman Muhammad Jalige on Monday.
Mr Jalige noted that the event occurred at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday.
A large number of bandits wielding sophisticated weapons had blocked a section of Funtua-Zaria Road at Gulbala, Giwa Local Government Area, to carry out their operations before the security agents swooped on them.
Mr Jalige said a combined team of police and military mobilised to the location and thwarted the intention of the gunmen who had already herded some passengers into the bush.
“On reaching the location, a Ford open truck with Reg. No. APP 667 XG was found and information gathered had it that a large number of passengers on the truck had been moved off the road by the bandits.
“This development engendered an immediate search and rescue operation by the operatives into the adjourning forest.
“In the process, the bandits were encountered and by the sheer force of fire power by the security operatives, they were left with no option than to abort their nefarious mission and take to flight with injuries.
“Thorough combing of the forest over several hours by the crack operatives succeeded in the rescue of large number of victims totalling 76 comprising male and females of different ages,” he added.
Mr Jalige said preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were passengers on the truck travelling from Sabon Birni LGA of Sokoto State to different destinations, when they were abducted.
“Operatives are still on operation within the general area in search of the main truck driver and two other passengers who are yet to be accounted for,” he added.
Mr Jalige said that the Commissioner of Police, Yekini Ayoku described the development as an important breakthrough and a demonstration of the imperative for strong inter-service collaboration.
He assured that the inter-agency coordination and collaboration would be strengthened to insulate the public space from enemies of the country.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
Police say three alleged vandals nabbed, multimillion-naira rail tracks recovered
The police command in Oyo state arrested three suspects in connection with the vandalism and theft of railway tracks valued at N200 million.
States
Otti directs immediate implementation of NYSC allowances
Mr Otti gave the directive in his office on Tuesday while receiving the new NYSC coordinator, Yunusa Tanimu, in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South council area.
Anti-Corruption
I would have become Nigeria’s president now if I had been drug dealer, fraudster: Basketmouth
“If I had started a church business. Sorry. If I had joined evangelism. I would have been Daddy G.O. owning two private jets, one university,” stated Basketmouth.
States
Ibadan men nabbed for kidnapping five-year-old girl, demanding N10 million ransom
The suspects, Adegboye Seyi Sunday and Adegboye Elijah Adefemi, were nabbed in Ibadan by the police.
Economy
World’s Richest AI Creator: Meet Deepseek founder Liang Wenfeng worth $36 billion
Ranked among China’s 100 richest people, Mr Liang was on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2025 and on Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business.
Economy
FG expresses commitment to improving ease of doing business
FG says it remains committed to improving the ease of doing business, strengthening investor confidence and implementing policies that encourage enterprise growth.
