Troops rescue 6 abducted Zamfara varsity students

The operatives of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadarin-Daji, have rescued six female students of the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State who were abducted by bandits in the early hours of Friday, September 22.

The Star had reported that the bandits kidnapped an unspecified number of students, mostly females, from their rented hostels at Sabon-Gida which is a few metres away from the university.

Speaking on the incident, the Force Information Officer of Operation Hadarin-Daji, Cpt. Ibrahim Yahaya, disclosed the troops pursued the abductors who took the students to the forest.

He said the troops engaged the bandits in a gun duel, supported by the air component of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), and rescued six of the students.

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Yahaya further stated that several bandits were neutralised during the rescue operation which, he said, was still ongoing.

“The troops also recovered one AK-47, a magazine, four motorcycles, and one communication gadget from the terrorists,” the officer told NAN.

The university’s students had, in June 2023, protested the spate of abductions of their colleagues residing in Sabon-Gida and Damba communities in Zamfara State.

The two communities are opposite the main campus of the university, which is about 20km from Gusau, the Zamfara State capital.

The institution’s spokesperson, Umar Usman, has however yet to speak on the incident as of press time.

The Star