Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke have rescued two police inspectors and nine others from their captors in Benue.

The commander of OPWS, Moses Gara, who disclosed this on Monday in Makurdi, stated that two suspects were arrested during the operation.

He said the operation, which was carried out on Saturday and Sunday, was headed by the commander of Sector 1, Kolawole Bukoye, and supported by the air component of the OPWS targeting Benue and neighbouring Taraba.

According to Mr Gara, 11 people, including two police officers, were rescued in the Tse-Ahur and Chito areas in Ukum LGA during the raid, while two suspects were arrested. He said the 11 rescue victims include four females and seven males.

He added that the high-impact operation was carried out simultaneously in the Tse-Ahur and Chito areas of Ukum LGA, Benue, with Sector 3 providing a strategic blocking position in Gindin Mangoro, Wukari LGA, Taraba, to interdict fleeing insurgents.

According to the commander, four FN rifles, three G3 rifles, four AK-47 rifles, one PKT machine gun, one locally fabricated dane gun, 15 AK-47 magazines, three FN rifle magazines, and 31 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition were recovered during the operation.

He said that 184 rounds of 7.62mm x 54 ammunition, one pistol magazine, five smoke discharge canisters, and several fetish charms were also recovered.

Mr Gara said that a preliminary investigation revealed that one of the arrested suspects was in charge of their armoury while the other was the victims’ security guard.

He commended the chief of defence staff and other service chiefs for their continued support and for deploying more personnel for the operation. He assured that troops would maintain operational pressure, dominate the battle space, and restore peace and security to Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa.

Speaking to journalists, John Ngbede, one of the rescued officers attached to Numan Divisional Police Station in Adamawa command, said he was held captive for 48 days.

“On June 16, while I was on my way to my station between Zaki Biam and Wukari at about 6:15 p.m., we ran into people in military uniforms. They stopped us and took us to an unknown destination. They collected N3.5 million from me, but I don’t know what they collected from others. They collected the money but refused to release me,” he said.

Similarly, Odah Patrick of the Rivers command said that he was granted leave to seek medical care, only to be kidnapped on July 14 while coming through Abakaliki into Benue.

He said the abductors collected ₦3 million from him but refused to release him and held him hostage for 16 days. 

(NAN)