More than 300 people abducted in the northern part of Nigeria have been rescued, president Bola Tinubu announced on Wednesday.
The operation, which freed 308 individuals, marks a significant success against the country’s pervasive kidnapping crisis.
Among those liberated are 163 people taken from Woro community in Kwara state in February, alongside 145 others primarily kidnapped from Niger state.
While specific details of the rescue operation remain undisclosed, the president confirmed they were recovered from a forest and are now receiving medical attention.
President Tinubu hailed the mission as the “largest rescue operation ever” undertaken by security forces in the country on a single day.
He stated: “The successful execution of this intelligence-led operation demonstrates the growing efficiency and collaboration among our security services. I commend our gallant men and women in uniform for their bravery and unwavering commitment to safeguarding Nigerian lives.”
open image in galleryAbductions, particularly from schools, are a persistent issue in Nigeria, with militant groups often using them to exert pressure on the government and demand ransoms.
Armed groups, known in Nigeria as bandits, frequently carry out kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central regions.
These groups are often comprised of former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities amid escalating resource conflicts. The country also grapples with a decade-long insurgency in its northeast.
Northwest Nigeria was also rocked when gunmen attacked a farming community in late June, killing at least 15 people.
The assault took place in the Talata Mafara area of conflict-battered Zamfara state. No group claimed immediate responsibility for the attack in the region, which has experienced recurring violence.
Abdullaziz Yari, a lawmaker representing the district at the national level, described the assault on the community as a “terrorist attack” in a statement on social media.
Yahaya Yari, no relation to Abdullaziz Yari, is the elected local government chairman overseeing the area. He appeared in a viral video during the victims’ funeral, where he made an emotional appeal to president Bola Tinubu and the junior defense minister, who hails from the area, to intervene and end the widespread killings.
Earlier in June, gunmen killed 17 farmers and wounded at least 13 others as they worked in their fields in Goron Namaye in another part of Zamfara state.