The 2 armed personnel of the Nigerian Safety and Civil Defence Corps who had been kidnapped alongside the Chairman of Akwanga Native Authorities Space of Nasarawa State, Safiyanu Andaha, have regained their freedom.
The council chairman was on Monday night time kidnapped alongside his buddy, Adamu Customized, and the opposite victims at Ningo village alongside the Akwanga-Andaha Highway within the state and brought to an unknown vacation spot.
The state NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Jerry Victor, confirmed their launch completely to The PUNCH on Wednesday in Lafia.
In accordance with him, the 2 NSCDC personnel had been touring with the Akwanga LG chairman after they had been barricaded by the gunmen who confronted them of their numbers and whisked them away.
The NSCDC spokesman, nevertheless, mentioned as a result of tensed scenario in the course of the operation, the safety operatives didn’t repel the bandits with their arms as a result of doing so might in all probability have endangered the lives of the chairman, his buddy and different motorists plying the highway.
He mentioned, “Sure, two personnel of the Nasarawa State Command of the NSCDC had been kidnapped on Monday alongside the Chairman of Akwanga LG. One among them is hooked up to his workplace whereas the opposite one is his ally who was off responsibility on that fateful day.
“They had been kidnapped collectively however the personnel working with the native authorities chairman was courageous sufficient to shortly determine the menace.
“What he did was to gallantly defend his rifle. The aim was to guard himself and to additionally shield his principal, as a result of if the bandits knew that he had a rifle with him, there would have been a terrific harm.
“The opposite NSCDC personnel was not on responsibility when the incident occurred. He merely joined the chairman as an ally for the brand new 12 months celebration to Ningo village that day.
“After they had been kidnapped, the Military later got here and took the rifle the place he (chairman’s safety aide) gallantly saved it. The rifle is presently with the Military and the 2 personnel are nonetheless within the hospital for medical consideration since they regained freedom.”
The abductors had on Tuesday morning demanded a ransom of N50 million earlier than they might be launched to their households.
Nonetheless, a supply near the victims informed journalists in Lafia on Tuesday night time that N10m was later paid to the abductors to safe their launch after intensed negotiations.
The supply added that after the ransom was paid to the bandits, they dropped the victims behind a filling station alongside Bayan Dutse Highway, an outskirt of Andaha city to allow their households to find them.
“They had been launched round 9pm on Tuesday behind a filling station at Bayan Dutse Highway after N10m was paid as ransom.
“The abductors who’re suspected to be herdsmen saved taking the victims by way of a number of bush paths which made them very drained.
“However instantly they regained freedom, they had been escorted by safety males to the hospital for medical consideration, and had been later reunited with their households,” the supply mentioned.
In the meantime, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel, has mentioned no ransom was paid to safe the discharge of the council chairman and the three different victims.
Nansel, in a textual content message to our correspondent, mentioned the discharge of the 4 victims adopted sustained stress on the abductors, including that the bandits had been left with no different possibility than to set the victims free.
“The command’s Anti-kidnaping unit and the Akwanga Divisional Patrol group had been deployed to Andaha village to convey the kidnap victims to Akwanga for medical examination earlier than reuniting them with their households,” the textual content message added.