The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has accused certain individuals of sabotaging the Nigerian government’s efforts to end insurgency in the country.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday after receiving 58 rescued kidnapped victims from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Musa assured that those hindering the campaign against terror would not succeed.
“You can see from the people—the women, the children, both girls and boys, and the little one. The question you want to ask is why would somebody kidnap these kinds of people? If you see them, they are barely just surviving,” he stated.
The Defence Chief clarified that not all those involved in banditry joined willingly, noting that some were conscripted. He assured Nigerians that the military would ensure perpetrators face justice.
“For the innocent blood they have spilled, for those whose freedom they have restricted, the security personnel will get back at them, and they will face the law,” he said.
Musa further disclosed that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the victims. He appealed to citizens to support security agencies in the ongoing fight against insecurity.
“It’s a joint effort. We’re able to do that through non-kinetic means of getting across. No penny was paid for these individuals,” he added.
The National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Major General Adamu Laka, revealed that preliminary investigations showed the victims were kidnapped by armed bandits under the command of a notorious terrorist known as Janbros.
He explained that the victims were forced to trek hundreds of kilometers to the dense forests of Birnin Gwari. Laka noted that the government had provided necessary assistance to stabilize them, including immediate medical checkups and rehabilitation.
Six of the rescued victims were admitted to the hospital, Laka said, but they have since recovered and joined the others to be reunited with their families.
The Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Sani Limankila, urged Nigerians to collaborate with security agencies to put an end to kidnapping.
The victims, comprising 35 males and 23 females, were kidnapped from their homes and farmlands in Gayam, Sabon Layi, and Kwaga villages of Dan Musa Local Government Area in Katsina State. They were rescued on November 14 by troops of the Nigerian Army’s 1 Division.
