This was contained in a statement issued by Lieutenant Colonel Musa Yahaya, the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 1 Division, who further disclosed that four insurgents were neutralised by the troops while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were kidnapped on February 6, 2024 from their village at Masuku in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
He noted that the victims had been given medical aids by a medical team of the division and reunited with their families.
“Troops of 1 Division, Nigerian Army (NA), on fighting patrol in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on 6th February, 2024 made contact with insurgents. During the firefight that ensued, troops neutralised four insurgents while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
“The troops recovered 3 AK-47 rifles, 7 AK-47 rifle magazines and 2 motorcycles. Similarly, troops of the Division deployed at Birnin Gwari received a tip off on insurgents movement on 7th February, 2024. The troops swiftly moved to intercept the insurgents at Kwaga village. The insurgents who could not withstand the fire power of the troops absconded into the forest in disarray abandoning their victims.”
He expressed the commendation of the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division NA and Force Commander Operation WHIRL PUNCH, Major General Valentine Okoro, to the troops for the successful operations and appealed to the general public to continue to avail troops and other security agencies with real time intelligence.
He equally appealed to locals to report persons with gunshot wounds seeking paramedics’ attention to the troops or other security agencies for prompt action.
