A former Minister of State for Health and Social Development, Dr Tunji Alausa, has commended the Office of the National Security Adviser for rescuing Dr Ganiyat Popoola and her nephew.

Mr Alausa also commended the military and other security agencies for the safe rescue of the kidnapped victims after 10 months in captivity.

Mr Alausa, now Minister of Education, gave the commendation when the rescued victims were reunited with their family by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday in Abuja.

He thanked President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the safety and security of all citizens, as well as the NSA for facilitating the release of Mrs Popoola without ransom.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu has invested many resources in making the country safe.

He said, “As we can see, security is significantly better all across the country but we are not there yet but it is going to continue to get better. I will also like to thank the entire armed forces for working so hard to secure the release of Dr. Popoola. More importantly, the NSA, who continuously reassures us that Dr. Popoola is alive in spite of being in captivity for about 10 months.’’

Mr Alausa said that Mrs Popoola and her nephew were released without any bad occurrences.

“This shows the skills of our armed forces, they did this without paying ransom and they secured the release of Popoola and her nephew. The country Nigeria is forever grateful to them,” he said.

The minister also thanked the Nigerian Medical Association and the National Association of Resident Doctors for their perseverance, trust in the government and persistence in ensuring the safe release of their colleague.

He urged Nigerians to join hands with the security forces to fight insecurity in the country, adding that the challenges should be seen as Nigeria’s.

On his part, the President of NMA, Dr Bala Audu, described the rescue of Mrs Popoola along with her nephew as a miraculous outcome that Nigerian doctors and indeed all Nigerians were happy with.

Mr Audu acknowledged the specific efforts and persistence of all Nigerian doctors through NARD and the persistence of the minister of health in reaching out to the ONSA.

Also, the President of NARD, Dr Tope Osundare, expressed appreciation to Mr Tinubu for the support and concern for all the doctors all over the country.

Mr Osundare said the collaborative efforts of the government agencies and institutions in synergy with NMA, ensured the release of Dr Popoola.

He said, “We were emotionally traumatised as a body, we had our meetings, we had our protests and we had the reassurance. That is why our thanks go to the president and the NSA for all that they have done to ensure the release of Dr Popoola from captivity. Today we are celebrating and we are happy that she is out of captivity because I can imagine what she has gone through in over 10 months. Today we want to appreciate God and appreciate everyone that has been involved.’’

The Defence Headquarters had earlier in the day confirmed the rescue of Mrs Popoola and other victims through non-kinetic operations with other security agencies.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, in a statement, said that the details of their release remained classified due to ongoing operations.

 (NAN)