The Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has so far freed over 1,000 abduction victims without having to pay a ransom, according to Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, who made the announcement on Monday.
This was said by Ribadu upon receiving the 22 rescued students and faculty members from the Federal University of Gusau, located in Zamfara State, on Sunday.
On September 22, 2023, the bandits broke into the facility and took over thirty staff members and students hostage.
Mani Mummuni, the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, urged security services to expedite the rescue of the abducted students while she was at the university expressing her condolences to the families and school authorities over the event.
Yazid Abubakar, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, stated in a news release that the command has sent out a second tactical squad to conduct search and rescue operations and would guarantee the release of all the abducted students.
In Sabon Gida Village, close to the Federal University of Gusau, three student accommodations were broken into by suspected bandits on September 22, 2023, at approximately 0250 hours. Armed with sophisticated weapons, the bandits abducted an unidentified number of students and took them to an unidentified location.
Out of the students, twenty-two were taken into captivity and seven were saved.
The 22 were rescued on Sunday in an exercise organized by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre. They included 15 students and seven university employees.
The National Security Agency (NSA) expressed gratitude to the security personnel for saving the students “without losing anyone of them or paying any ransom” during their meeting with them in Abuja.
He stated, “On behalf of the President, I appreciate all those involved in the successful rescue of the victims without losing any of them or paying a ransom.
“This is yet another success story in our attempts to rescue all those who are unlawfully held captive.
“We have so far released over a thousand such victims without noise and with complete respect to their privacy and safety.
“This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months, to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions.
“Going forward, we are strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent these abductions and strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities.”
Instead of letting their experiences break them, Ribadu challenged the students and faculty members to use them to strengthen themselves.
While the bandits sought N1 billion, the Federal Government claims no ransom was paid. In March, the military freed 137 students who had been kidnapped from Kaduna State.
The NSA praised security forces for their sacrifices and thanked the parents of the rescued victims for their understanding and patience throughout this time.
According to Maj-Gen Adamu Laka (retd.), the National Coordinator of NCTC, the students were freed in three groups following security agency-conducted search and rescue operations.
