The Nigerian Army has announced the rescue of five kidnapped persons in Kogi State after terrorists reportedly abandoned them while escaping from ongoing military operations targeting criminal hideouts in the state.
This is contained in a statement by the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the 12 Brigade, Lieutenant Hassan Abdullahi, on Wednesday.
The operation followed intensified military offensives, including air strikes and ground assaults directed at terrorist camps located in forest areas across Kogi.
Abdullahi said the victims regained their freedom as a result of sustained pressure mounted on criminal elements operating within the area.
He added that troops from the Forward Operating Base in Oshokoshoko were deployed on a blocking mission along the Oshokoshoko-Adankolo route inside the Adankolo Forest following a recent air interdiction mission against a known terrorist enclave.
According to him, during the operation, soldiers encountered five kidnapped victims who had been left behind by their captors while the terrorists fled from advancing military forces.
The Army spokesman pointed out that preliminary investigations indicated that the kidnappers abandoned the victims after their camps came under intense pressure from ongoing military operations.
The development forced members of the criminal group to disperse in different directions in an attempt to evade capture.
