Nigerian State Says It Rescued 187 People Kidnapped by Armed Gangs

Nigerian security forces said Thursday they had rescued 187 people recently abducted by armed gangs in the northwestern state of Zamfara, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported Friday.

Mohammed Shehu, Zamfara’s police spokesman, issued a statement on October 7 announcing the rescue of 187 people, “including women and children,” who had been seized by unknown kidnappers from four regions across the state over the last two months. Shehu did not reveal many details about the rescues but said the victims were freed from the state’s Tsibiri forest where they had allegedly been held captive by the unidentified kidnappers.

“Today, 7th October, 2021, police tactical operatives, in a joint operation at Tsibiri forest in Maradun local government area of the state, succeeded in the unconditional rescue of 187 victims,” the Zamfara police statement read.

“The abducted victims, who had spent many weeks in captivity, were unconditionally rescued following extensive search and rescue operations that lasted for hours,” according to the press release.

Zamfara security forces launched a manhunt several months ago in response to a spate of abductions across the state. The operation led Zamfara government authorities to shut down the state’s telecom services in early September as part of an effort to disrupt communication between criminal gangs suspected of carrying out the kidnappings. The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) ordered regional network provider Globacom to cut off service to Zamfara state in a letter seen by Reuters.

“The NCC letter instructed Globacom to suspend phone and internet services to Zamfara from Sept. 3 for an initial two weeks,” the news agency reported on September 6.

The mobile phone blackout extended to Nigerian states beyond Zamfara according to Reuters, which noted the government ordered the communications disruption along with strict public curfews and restrictions on movement.

“Authorities say the restrictions cut off food supplies for the bandits and made it difficult for them to operate,” the news agency reported.

Zamfara state has suffered from mass abductions of its civilians since December 2020. Nigerian government officials blame the kidnappings, which are often carried out through violent and even deadly attacks, on “bandits” or members of armed criminal gangs.

Heavily armed militants regularly target vulnerable subjects and sites, such as schools, small villages, and people traveling via state highways. The gangs have increasingly held victims for ransom. Zamfara state officials on Thursday did not specify if they had paid a ransom for the release of nearly 200 abductees.