The police have rescued 21 schoolchildren kidnapped on December 31 by bandits at Kucheri Village, along Gusau-Funtua Road in Zamfara State.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Mohammed Shehu, confirmed the development during a press conference on Saturday.
Their freedom, he stated, followed efforts by police and military operatives who promptly responded to the distress call and moved to the scene where they engaged the hoodlums in a serious gun battle.
Of the victims were two females who were coming from Rini Village in Bakura Local Government Area to Katsina State for Almajiri Islamiyya School.
Although they were in the same vehicle with their scholar, he was however not lucky as the gunmen took him away as well as the driver of the bus.
“On 31st December 2021 at about 2300hrs, a distress call was received from Kucheri Village Via Tsafe LGA that, Armed Bandits in their large number blocked Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway at Kucheri axis, and abducted an unspecified number of commuters in five (5) different vehicles,” the police spokesman said.
“Police Tactical Operatives in Conjunction with the Military promptly responded to the distress call and moved to the scene, where they engaged the hoodlums to a serious gun battle.”
As part of efforts to release the other two victims in captivity, the Commissioner of Police sent a reinforcement of police operatives “to complement the effort of the joint security operatives currently working to rescue the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators.”
The police operatives also asked the especially drivers and passengers to desist from the night journey.
According to the police, the nighttime is the period that is mostly used by the bandits to block roads and kidnap commuters in the state.
The police spokesman added that the Zamfara State Police Command will continue to work assiduously to ensure the safety and security of the citizenry.
