No fewer than 24 people who were abducted by bandits in Zamfara have reportedly been freed by Operation Hadarin Daji troops, according to the Nigerian Army.
According to the service, the victims were liberated on Friday morning following a bloody gun battle with the bandits.
Four bandits were reportedly killed in the gunfight, according to a statement from Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations.
The statement read, “Troops of 223 Battalion, operating under Sector 1 of Joint Task Force, North West Operations Hadarin Daji have in a rescue operation conducted in the early hours of today, July 7, 2023, rescued 24 kidnap victims, including a child, after a shootout with notorious bandits at Kabugu Lamba; an abandoned village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara state, North West Nigeria.
“The troops led by the Commanding Officer of the Battalion stalked and swooped on the bandits, annihilating 4 of them in a ferocious ‘fire fight’ that ensued.
“The victims, including a minor, 9 females and 14 males have been extricated and evacuated from the kidnappers’ hideout by the troops.”