New details have emerged regarding the rescue of 12 kidnapped victims at the Zuma 1 area of Bwari Area Council on January 2 by the Nigerian Army and a joint security team. The FCT Police Command, in a statement by SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the successful rescue of the victims around Kajuru forest in Kaduna State at about 11:30 pm on Saturday, January 20, 2024.

The incident involved suspected bandits attacking the Zuma community in Bwari Area Council of the FCT on January 2 and 3, resulting in the injury of two policemen and the kidnapping of about 10 individuals, including a father, Mansoor Kadriyar, and his six daughters. During the attack, a middle-aged man identified as Alhaji mobilized policemen to thwart the kidnapping of the seven family members and others but was shot by the bandits. Two policemen were injured before the bandits escaped with the victims.

The bandits later demanded a ransom of N60 million and tragically killed the eldest daughter, Nabeeha, due to the delay in paying the ransom, subsequently increasing the ransom to N100 million. Additionally, three other individuals were kidnapped by bandits in the Barangoni area and the Bwari area council, with a vigilante sustaining a gunshot injury during one of the incidents.

The operation to rescue the victims was carried out by the Nigerian Army’s 197 Special Forces Battalion. The troops swiftly responded to intelligence received at 10 pm and located 12 individuals, including three adult females, two female children, and seven male children, who had been left by their captors near Gurara Dam in Kachia LGA. The army's intervention was prompt and precise, with the military personnel ensuring the safety of the rescued parties.

Despite encountering an ambush by suspected bandits while returning with the rescued individuals, the soldiers managed to suppress the threat without incurring any casualties among both the rescue team and the victims. The rescued abductees were handed over to the police for further reunification with their respective families.

An officer emphasized that the operation was conducted by the Nigerian Army's 197 Special Forces Battalion and expressed dismay at the dismissal of their efforts, stating that handing over rescued victims to the civil police cannot be described as a joint operation.

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