Mr. Onogwu Muhammed, Chief Press Secretary to Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, claims a vigilante group has freed 134 abducted victims in Kogi.
He said this in a statement released on Monday in Lokoja, stressing that the rescued victims were kidnapped in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State.
According to Mohammed, the victims were retrieved during rescue operations conducted by the Kogi Vigilance Group in woods across the state and in areas of Nasarawa State.
“The vigilance group stormed kidnappers’ hideouts in Kogi’s Odullo forest and Sardauna in Nasarawa State, rescuing 134 victims abducted from Abaji, Kuje, and Kwali in the FCT, as well as Toto Local Government Area in Nasarawa.”
“The vigilance group, comprising 92 members who participated in the operation at Odullo forest and Sardauna in Nasarawa State, returned and were gladly received by the chairman of the area, Mr. Dauda Aliyu,” he added.
He further said that Aliyu, who welcomed the rescued victims, praised the vigilantes for their courage and accomplishment.
He said that the chairman praised Yahaya Bello’s government for its support of security personnel in the state, and that the helpless had been appropriately reunited with their relatives.
“The council boss thanked Bello for his support of the vigilantes, who he said had continued to help immensely in the fight against insecurity in the state,” according to the statement.
The release further said that retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, the State Governor’s Security Adviser, thanked the vigilance group and other security agencies in the state for their efforts in combating crime in the state and beyond.
