Operatives of the Department of State Service, DSS, in collaboration with other security operatives, have rescued nine kidnapped victims in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The DSS operatives were joined by the Kwara State Forest Guards, along with local hunters and vigilantes, in carrying out the operation in the Obbo-Aiyegunle, Ejiu-Ora, and Osi axes of the local government, which border Ekiti and Kogi.
Dada Sunday, Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Ekiti Local Government Council, confirmed the situation in a statement released to Chronicle NG in Ilorin on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the victims were kidnapped from the Eju community after the local market and were being transported to Niger State via a forest route before the joint security team apprehended them.
One of the rescued victims, Umaru Muazu of Obbo-Aiyegunle, described how the attackers apprehended him and his son during the event.
“Men came from nowhere and put a gun to my head. Four of them took me and my son. Fear gripped me, and I fell to the ground. They also took my friend’s motorcycle and kidnapped us,” Muazu said.
Ibrahim Danga, another recovered victim from Obbo-Aiyegunle, stated that they were briefly held captive by the kidnappers before security personnel arrived and freed them.
Owolabi Adebayo, a member of the Kwara Forest Guards, said the rescue came after an intelligence-led bush-combing operation that ended in a gun duel with the suspected robbers.
“We neutralised three of them and rescued nine people. One of the victims is receiving treatment for injuries,” Adebayo said.
He did, however, call for enhanced logistics and equipment to support continuing operations against criminal gangs operating in the forests.
“There is no type of firearm that is not in their hands. We need more equipment such as body armour, binoculars, night-vision goggles, walkie-talkies and more ammunition to confront them,” he added.
Agbemuko Gabriel, the Chief Security Officer of Ekiti Local Government Area, praised the forest guards for their role in the operation, calling their contribution crucial to the area’s security efforts.
“What they did for us two days ago, they are the ones who helped us rescue those people who were kidnapped along the Ora-Yetoro axis. They have been doing enough security and intelligence work for us, and we are happy for that,” Gabriel said.
According to the statement, security personnel displayed multiple motorcycles purportedly confiscated from the accused bandits, and the rescued victims were also presented following the operation.
The rescue comes amid ongoing security operations along Kwara’s southern axis, where authorities have increased bush-combing drills and coordinated patrols to reduce kidnapping and banditry in border areas.
The news comes after President Bola Tinubu recently approved the establishment of a new Nigerian Army battalion in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area, to bolster military operations against banditry, terrorism, and other violent crimes in the state.
