Security operatives have rescued 12 kidnapped victims during a raid on a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in a forest corridor around Ette and Aguibeje communities in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
The operation was carried out by the Enugu State Forest Guard in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force Inspector-General’s Special Intervention Squad and other security agencies as part of ongoing bush-combing operations targeting criminal camps in forest corridors across Enugu State.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Commander of the Forest Guard, Akinbayo O. Olasoji, said the operation followed credible intelligence on the activities of a kidnapping gang operating within the Effeche Eja/Ojugo forest axis.
According to him, security operatives came under gunfire from the suspected kidnappers while approaching the hideout, leading to a gun battle.
“At the end of the engagement, the joint security team successfully rescued 12 kidnapped victims from the criminals’ camp, while two AK-47 rifles were recovered,” he said.
The operation also led to the dismantling of the kidnappers’ camp within the Effeche forest corridor.
Olasoji, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police who previously served with the Enugu State Police Command, further disclosed that follow-up operations by a combined team of the police, the Nigerian Army, Forest Guard, and neighbourhood watch groups resulted in the arrest of three suspected kidnappers within the operational area.
The suspects are currently in police custody and are assisting investigators.
He said the success of the raid underscores the growing effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration in tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state.
Olasoji also assured residents that security operations across forest corridors and rural communities in Enugu State remain ongoing, urging the public to continue providing credible information to help security agencies track and apprehend criminal elements.
