Troops of Sector 9 under Operation ENDURING PEACE have rescued eight kidnapped victims from Pandam Forest in Qua’an Pan council area of Plateau state.

The operation was disclosed on Friday in a statement by the troops’ spokesperson, Chinonso Polycarp Oteh.

According to the statement, the troops were deployed to Namu on Wednesday to conduct an offensive.

“The operation was conducted at approximately 3:00 a.m., following credible intelligence regarding the presence of kidnappers in the forest,” he said.

According to him, the troops engaged the bandits in a firefight as the bandits attempted to flee.

“Utilising the ensuing chaos, three of the kidnap victims managed to escape earlier from the kidnappers’ custody.

“Subsequent exploitation and thorough combing of the forest by the troops led to the rescue of an additional five abducted victims, bringing the total number of rescued individuals to eight,” he said.  

Mr Oteh said the rescued hostages would soon be reunited with their families. He added that troops are pursuing the fleeing kidnappers to apprehend or kill them.