Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke have successfully rescued 11 kidnapped victims, including two serving police inspectors, during a daring raid on hideouts of suspected kidnappers in Benue State.
The victims, comprising four females and seven males, were rescued in coordinated operations carried out between Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3, at Tse-Ahur and Chito communities in Ukum Local Government Area.
The Force Commander of OPWS, Major General Moses Gara, while briefing journalists in Makurdi on Monday, revealed that two suspected kidnappers were apprehended during the operations and are currently being interrogated.
“Eleven persons, including two police officers, were rescued at Tse-Ahur and Chito areas in Ukum Local Government during the raid,” Gara said. “The rescued victims are receiving medical care and, after profiling, will be reunited with their families.”
Gara disclosed that Sector 3 of the operation provided critical support by positioning troops in Gindin Mangoro, Wukari Local Government Area of neighbouring Taraba State to prevent the escape of fleeing suspects.
He added that a significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during the mission.
Items recovered include four FN rifles, three G3 rifles, four AK-47 rifles, a PKT machine gun, a locally made dane gun, 15 AK-47 magazines, three FN rifle magazines, and 31 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition. Additionally, troops recovered 184 rounds of 7.62mm x 54 ammunition, one pistol magazine, five smoke discharge canisters, and several fetish charms.
According to the OPWS commander, preliminary investigations suggest that one of the arrested suspects was responsible for managing the gang’s armoury, while the second suspect acted as a guard for the abducted victims.
The operation, led by Commander of Sector 1, Colonel Kolawole Bukoye, also received aerial support from the OPWS Air Component, targeting criminal elements across Benue and parts of Taraba State.
General Gara explained that the rescue mission was in response to the rising wave of kidnappings in the Sankera axis of the state, which includes Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo LGAs.
“The operation became necessary due to the persistent criminal activities in the region. Our goal is to flush out all criminal elements terrorizing residents,” he said.
He commended the Chief of Defence Staff and other Service Chiefs for their support, noting that more personnel have been deployed to intensify operations in Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa States.
One of the rescued police officers, Inspector John Ngbede of the Numan Divisional Police Station in Adamawa, recounted his ordeal, revealing that he had spent 48 days in captivity after being abducted on June 16.
“I was on my way to my station between Zaki Biam and Wukari around 6:15 p.m. when we were ambushed by men in military uniforms,” Ngbede said. “They held me for 48 days, collected N3.5 million from me, and still refused to release me.”
Another officer, Inspector Odah Patrick from the Rivers State Police Command, said he was abducted on July 14 while traveling through Abakaliki en route to Benue for medical reasons. He disclosed that his captors extorted N3 million from him and held him for 16 days.