In Nigeria, nearly 200 hostages freed by security forces

Published on : 08/10/2021 – 08:33

In Nigeria, security forces have freed 187 people kidnapped during raids on camps run by gangs in forests in the country’s northwest, police said Thursday (October 7th).

The rescued victims, including 187 men, women and children, were released in Zamfara state, where they had been abducted in separate gang attacks.

Heavily armed groups have been raging for years in northwest and central Nigeria, including kidnappings for ransom.

Police released photographs showing dozens of men, women and children sitting curled up on the ground after their release.

The victims, “who spent many weeks in captivity, were released unconditionally after extensive search and rescue operations that lasted hours,” said Mohammed Shehu, spokesman for the police. ‘Zamfara State, in a statement.

Dozens of schoolchildren still hostages

This rescue is part of a large military operation, carried out for several weeks in the state of Zamfara and in other states of the north-west, which consisted in particular in interrupting the telecommunications in order to disrupt the communications of the kidnappers.

Authorities suspended telecommunications last month in Zamfara, where many attacks are taking place, and then in parts of Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna states.

Gangs, which maintain camps hidden in forests straddling the four states, are increasingly attacking schools where they kidnap students for ransom.

Hundreds of schoolchildren have been kidnapped in mass kidnappings since December. Most were released or released on ransom payment, but dozens of them remain in detention.

With AFP