After spending weeks in protective custody, the Niger State Police Command managed to successfully reunite 35 kidnapping victims, including 16 women and 19 children, with their families.
The victims were rescued from various hideouts in the Agwara, Tegina, and Kagara regions.
The Deputy , the Commissioner of Police in charge of investigations, DCP Ibrahim Adamu, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Adamu Elleman, presided over the official handover ceremony. Ayuba Katako, the head of Rafi Local Government Area, was formally presented to the police command headquarters in Dutsen Kura, Minnesota.
During their time in custody, CP Elleman and his representative noted that the victims had been receiving care and support from both the Police and the Niger State Government. According to intelligence reports that bandits were moving from Birnin-Gwari with kidnapped victims to new hideouts, he disclosed that the rescue operation first started on July 3, 2025.
Police officers interrogated the first batch of people in Agwara while crossing a river into New-Bussa, intercepting them at the time. Along the Mekujeri–Tegina road, a second group, consisting of four women and seven children, was interrogated. One Yusuf Abdullahi of Birnin-Gwari, who is currently the subject of a possible complicity investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), later saved from a vehicle.
The victims were subjected to a number of counseling, rehabilitation, and deradicalization procedures in order to be ready for reintegration into their communities, according to the Police Commissioner. He urged the public to continue providing law enforcement with reliable, actionable information for prompt response.
Ayuba Katako, the leader of the Local Government Area of Chairman Rafi, thanked the Nigerian Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and other security organizations involved in the rescue operation. He also praised the Niger State Government for its assistance, particularly in providing the rescued people with food, medical care, and emotional support.
“This reunion has been eagerly awaited by the families.” We are pleased that the Police and relevant authorities have done the necessary scrutiny before reintegration, despite the need for proper investigation. These individuals are now prepared to make a community return, Katako said.
According to his assurances, the local government would support the victims, particularly the young people, in choosing whether to continue their education or pursue vocational training, depending on their needs and current health condition.
These are well-rounded people, he continued, adding that we will take care of them until they can regain their lives.
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Akilu Isyaku, the chairman of Shiroro Local Government Area, expressed his sincere gratitude to the police and all parties involved in the rescue.
“What God has done for us is impressive.” We have nothing to say to the Police other than thank them for the way our people were saved. He said, “We still have people in captivity and we need your prayers so that God may rescue those who are still held by these criminals.”
“We appreciate everyone who made this happen.” Special thanks to the media, particularly Channels TV, for timely dissemination of important information. Even though some of these victims have been missing for a while, we were concerned that they may have passed away. We continue to pray that those who are missing will survive.
Salma Usman, one of the victims, emotionally recapped her ordeal:
“These bandits abused us in the forest a lot.” We simply had to be patient until security personnel arrived and intervened. We prayed to God to save us, but that was it. We pray never to experience such a situation again in our lives today because we are secure. To keep us safe, we thank the police for providing us with food and medical care. One of my children and I were kidnapped, but I’m now happy to see them back home. My husband and I have two children, one of whom was in captivity with me.
Halima Shehu, a different victim who was also in House, described her agonizing ordeal:
Before being abducted with my husband, I had just married six months prior. I was only sixteen years old. Three women and two men were among the five people who were kidnapped. With my late husband, I had two kids. Before being taken back to the forest in Niger State, where we were eventually rescued by security personnel, we were taken to the Sambisa Forest and later the Cameroon Forest.
Source: Channels TV
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