Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued a kidnapped senior military officer, Lt.-Col. Ofor Amobi, and a civilian, Ikechukwu Onwuanra, after a 10-day joint search-and-rescue operation in Enugu State.
The victims were freed in the early hours of Friday following sustained pressure on their abductors, according to a military operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
Troops of Sector 1 of Operation UDO KA carried out the rescue. The team drew personnel from the 82 Division Garrison, 103 Battalion (Reinforced), the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service and the 197 Special Forces Battalion.
Led by the Commander of 82 Division Garrison, the troops combed the Inyi, Awlaw and Akpugo-Eze forests and communities in Oji River Local Government Area for 10 days.
The breakthrough came at about 2:00 a.m. on Friday, when troops received intelligence from the Divisional Police Officer of Inyi Division on the victims’ whereabouts. Troops launched an immediate fighting patrol to the location and found the victims abandoned at the edge of a forest in Inyi.
Both had sustained gunshot wounds. They were evacuated to the 82 Division Medical Hospital for treatment and evaluation.
Preliminary interrogation showed the victims had been blindfolded, moved to an unknown location, and later abandoned in a forest along the Enugu-Anambra border.
“The victims attributed their rescue to the sustained pressure mounted by the joint troops, which denied the kidnappers freedom of movement and compelled them to abandon their captives,” the report said.
The military said further details would be released later.
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