FILES: National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday handed over two rescued kidnap victims to their family, announcing that five members of the gang behind their abduction had been arrested.
At the brief ceremony in Abuja, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, presented the victims — Antini and Safarau — to their husband, Ibrahim Ahmed, on behalf of the NSA.
Laka recounted that the women were forcefully taken from their home in Kwanar Dangora, Kiru Local Government Area of Kano State, on July 28 by a gang of 11 armed men wielding AK-47 rifles.
He said the victims spent four harrowing months in captivity before security operatives successfully tracked and rescued them.
“Following the incident, the NSA directed security and intelligence agencies to launch an intensive, coordinated operation to trace and rescue the victims,” Laka said.
“After sustained efforts over the past four months, the two women were successfully rescued, and five members of the gang responsible for the abduction were apprehended.”
He added that the leader of the gang had fled to Zamfara, where operatives were already on his trail, while the arrested suspects remain in custody.
Laka assured Nigerians that the intelligence community and security agencies were intensifying efforts to dismantle criminal syndicates across the country.
“There is no hiding place for those who engage in kidnapping, banditry, or any act of terror,” he said.
“We assure Nigerians that the Office of the National Security Adviser, all security agencies, and the Armed Forces will continue to deploy all available capabilities to safeguard lives and maintain national security.”
He urged citizens to support ongoing national security operations and disclosed that efforts to rescue schoolchildren abducted in Niger State were advancing.
“We are also working very hard to rescue all the schoolgirls kidnapped in Niger State and by the grace of God, we will have good news for Nigerians very soon,” he added.
