Troops of the Nigerian Army 2 Division/Sector 3 Operation FANSAN YAMA, have rescued 21 kidnapped victims in Kwara and Kogi.

Polcarp Okoye, acting deputy director, Army Public Relations, 2 Division Nigerian Army disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Saturday.

Mr Okoye said the troops have sustained efforts to eliminate bandits and other criminal elements operating in Kwara and neighboring states.

He said that the coordinated operations by troops of 12 Brigade Lokoja and 22 Armoured Brigade Ilorin, led to the rescue of the kidnapped persons on Friday.

According to Mr Okoye, the victims stated that they were abducted from different locations across Kwara and Kogi.

He said the bandits were forced to release their captives as a result of troops’ intensified offensive against them, noting that some of the victims have been with the kidnappers for over four months.

“The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division, Nigerian Army, and Commander Sector 3 Operation FANSAN YAMA, Major General CR Nnebeife, who has been coordinating the operations ensured they were provided with necessary first aid and other relief items to assist them recover from the torture they had gone through in the hands of their abductors.

“Major General Nnebeife, further sympathized with the victims, reassuring that the division remained committed to sustaining the ongoing onslaught against all criminal elements,” he said.

Mr Nnebeife assured the public that there would be no hiding place for bandits and other criminals within the division’s Area of Responsibility.

Mr Okoye said that the rescued victims have been swiftly evacuated to a military medical facility for medical attention.

He said that most of them were physically weak and could not walk unaided due to extreme exhaustion.

Okoye, however, said the rescued victims were responding to treatment, and would be reunited.

(NAN)