Aminu Masari, Governor of Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria, says the state government negotiated the release of 104 abducted persons by suspected terrorists.
Masari stated this when he received 77 rescued kidnapped victims Thursday at the Government House. But it was not clear when the victims were abducted and the number of days they had spent with their abductors.
“The victims were rescued by the state government in collaboration with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force, the Department of State Security and other security agencies,” the governor said.
Giving a breakdown of the victims, the Governor“ said that out of the 104 victims, 16 were from Sabuwa, Faskari and Dandume axis of the state while 10 were from Danmusa axis.
“ The 77 handed over to me on Thursday were from the Batsari and Jibia axis,” he said.
The governor further revealed that their rescue was in continuation of an exercise that started with the release of the recently abducted 344 schoolboys of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara.
Masari said, “We saw an opener and we are working with the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in cooperation with the police, the army, the DSS, the Air force and other security agencies to bring back as many of the kidnapped victims as possible.”
“And the process is still ongoing, we are doing this as quietly as we can to make sure that nobody is harmed and further kidnapping is stopped.”
Sanusi Buba, Katsina Commissioner of Police, while speaking noted that the terrorists themselves made several appeals for peace to reign in their domains.
He said, “This process has been on for some days. We are making efforts to ensure that all those that are still in captivity are safely rescued without the payment of any ransom or hindrance.”
“We hope and pray that this method will not be limited to Katsina State but will go beyond all other vulnerable states.”
Sources available to HumAngle revealed that the rescued 77 victims are to be reunited with their families on Friday.
HumAngle reports that terrorists on December 11, 2020, abducted over 300 students of Government Science Secondary School kankara. The spent more than five days in captivity before they were released to the Katsina State Governments.
The government said no ransom was paid to the terrorists before the schoolboys were released.
Another 84 Islamic students were also abducted in Mahuta community in Dandume Local Government but were rescued by a team of local vigilantes and security agencies operating in the area.
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