The Nigerian military announced that it had rescued five people who were kidnapped in separate incidents in the northwestern state of Sokoto.
A statement issued by the military spokesman, John Eneche, said that three people were rescued in Isa area while another two were rescued in Yayi village in Sabon Birni. The statement did not say who was responsible for kidnapping the victims.
“The victims on interrogation stated that they were kidnapped on 1 June 2020,” the statement said adding that all the victims were handed over to the Sokoto State Government.
Last month, six people out of 11 who were being held hostage by armed bandits in the northwestern state of Katsina were rescued in a military operation. The military said afterwards that it would continue searching for the remaining five. It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between the two incidents.
Meanwhile, the military also said that it arrested five members of the Yan Sakai group and a gun fabricator in Zamfara state, which is also located in Nigeria’s northwest. The Yan Sakai group is a volunteer vigilance group in Zamfara state which has been battling bandits, according to local media.
An assortment of items, including 10 Dane guns, was recovered during the arrests, the statement added.
In an interview with local publication Punch in December last year, the leader of the group, Sani Mudi, said that each of its members had a either a gun or another weapon for self defence against Fulani bandits who usually attacked them.
Nigeria’s northwest region, in particular, has been troubled by years of violence resulting in the killings of thousands of people, displacement of tens of thousands of others, and destruction of property.
The insecurity stems from clashes between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs, and revenge killings by vigilante groups.
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the military to increase its operations in that part of the country where banditry, kidnapping, and other criminal activities have recently become rampant.
The Nigerian government has launched several military operations to try to end the violence in the northwest while state authorities have also tried to initiate peace talks to address the situation without success.
