Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji have rescued a former Provost and his son from kidnappers during an operation carried out by men of the Nigerian Armed Forces in Zamfara State.
According to a statement published on the verified Twitter handle of the Nigerian Army on Friday, August 11, 2023, the operatives who were on patrol engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle, forcing them to flee in disarray into the forest, leaving behind their captives.
According to the statement, “during an interview with the rescued persons, they were identified as Dr. Hassan Abubakar Augie, a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Gusau, and his son”.
The statement reads:
“On the 11th of August 2023, Troops of Sector 1 Operation Hadarin Daji deployed at Forward Operating Base Mada in Zamfara State while on routine patrol along the Shemori-YYandoto road at Marke general area encountered an unspecified number of armed Bandits.
“The troops engaged the Bandits in a firefight for several hours; due to the troops fire superiority, the bandits fled in disarray into the forest along the area.
“The OPHD troops immediately went in hot pursuit of the Bandits into the forest, which forced them to abandon two civilians who were rescued from the Bandits unhurt and recover two operational motorcycles from the fleeing bandits.
“During an interview with the rescued persons, they were identified as Dr. Hassan Abubakar Augie, a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Gusau, and his son.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the abductees were abducted by Armed bandits late last night from his residence and were taken into the forest before the timely arrival of troops who rescued them.
“Accordingly, the two victims have been reunited with their families amidst jubilation while the troops maintained aggressive vigilance and patrol in the general area”.
