A coordinated operation led by operatives of the Department of State Services has rescued nine kidnapped victims and killed three suspected bandits during a fierce gun battle in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The victims, it was leant, included farmers seized from their farmlands and others who had earlier been abducted in neighbouring Ekiti State.
They however regained their freedom after the kidnappers were forced to flee under heavy gunfire, abandoning their captives.
The operation, which also involved the Kwara State Forest Guards, local hunters and vigilantes, was carried out in the Obbo Aiyegunle, Ejiu Ora and Osi axis of Ekiti LGA bordering Ekiti and Niger states.
Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of Ekiti Local Government, Prince Dada Sunday, confirmed the operation, on Wednesday.
He said intelligence gathered by security agencies led to the successful rescue mission.
Sunday said the kidnappers numbered “more than 10 and had assembled victims abducted from different locations before they were intercepted by security operatives.
According to him, “some of the victims were kidnapped from their farms, while others had earlier been abducted in Ekiti State and were being moved through the forest towards another destination when the security team struck”.
He disclosed that one of the victims sustained serious head injuries after he was cut with a machete while resisting abduction.
Sunday said, “One of the victims was macheted on the head because he initially resisted the kidnappers. He is currently responding to treatment.
“All nine victims were rescued at the scene after security operatives engaged the kidnappers in an exchange of gunfire that left three of the suspects dead, while the remaining members of the gang escaped into the forest”.
One of the rescued victims, Umaru Muazu of Obbo Aiyegunle, recounted the ordeal, saying armed men suddenly emerged and seized him and his son.
“They came from nowhere and pointed a gun at my head. Four of them took me and my son. They also took my friend’s motorcycle before marching us into the bush,” he said.
Another rescued farmer, Ibrahim Danga, said the victims had been held captive before security operatives arrived and engaged the kidnappers.
A member of the Kwara Forest Guards, Owolabi Adebayo, said the operation was intelligence driven.
“We neutralised three of them and rescued nine victims. They were heavily armed and possessed different types of firearms. We need more operational equipment, including body armour, binoculars, night vision goggles, walkie talkies and ammunition to effectively confront them,” he said.
The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, Ojo Adekimi, said the “DSS is in charge of the forest guard in the state.”
The latest rescue operation adds to a series of recent security offensives against kidnapping gangs in Kwara.
About two weeks ago, there were reports of a joint team of DSS operatives and the Kwara State Forest Guards killed two suspected bandits during a gun battle.
The operation reportedly led to the rescue of two abducted siblings, 16-year-old Fatima Azeez and her five-year-old brother, Ibrahim Azeez from a forest between Oba Isin and Owa Onire in Isin and Ifelodun local government areas.
They operatives were said to have overran the criminals’ hideouts, while several other suspects escaped with gunshot injuries.
