GUARDIAN NG
No ransom was paid to bandits for the release of the 58 kidnapped victims who were abducted by terrorists in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has said.
He made this statement while handing over the kidnapped victims to the Chief of Staff to the Kaduna Governor, Mallam Liman Sani Kila, who represented the governor, Uba Sani.
Insisting that no ransom was paid, General Musa clarified that the victims were released through an arrangement facilitated by the state governor, in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
According to Musa, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), one mechanised division led the joint rescue mission, demonstrating Governor Sani’s administration’s commitment to tackling insecurity in Kaduna State using a non-kinetic approach in collaboration with security agencies.
Upon their release, the rescued victims—mainly children and women—were taken to the office of the National Security Adviser for debriefing after undergoing a medical check-up.
The victims, which included 35 males and 23 females, were kidnapped by armed bandits under the command of a notorious criminal known as Janbros from Gayam, Sabon Layi, and Kwaga villages in Dan Musa local government area of Katsina State.
“The victims were forced to trek hundreds of kilometres through the Birnin Gwari forest. They were released at about 3 p.m. on Thursday, November 14th, through the non-kinetic arrangement facilitated by the state Governor, Senator Uba Sani, in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser,” General Musa explained.
