Gen. Musa strongly condemned those responsible for the kidnappings, noting the innocent nature of the victims, which included women, children, and infants. “You can see from the people, the women, the children, both girls and boys, and the little one. The question you want to ask is why would somebody kidnap these kinds of people? If you see them, they are barely just providing. And that is to tell you that there are individuals that on their own are trying to make it impossible for the government to succeed,” he said.
He further emphasized that these saboteurs would not succeed in their efforts. “They are doing everything possible to sabotage the efforts of the government. That will not happen,” he asserted.
Gen. Musa also clarified that not all individuals involved in banditry joined voluntarily. Some were reportedly conscripted into these criminal activities, and the government has vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable. “We are going after those perpetrators, and they will not be let free. For the innocent blood they have killed, for those that have restricted their freedom, we will get them back, and they will face the law,” he declared.
Addressing the rescue operation, Gen. Musa stated that no ransom was paid for the victims’ release, which was carried out using a combination of military tactics and non-kinetic approaches. He appealed to Nigerians for continued support of security agencies in the fight against insecurity, stressing that success requires collective action.
The victims, who were abducted from villages in Katsina State, were rescued by the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army on November 14. According to Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Center, the kidnappers were led by a notorious bandit leader known as JANBROS. He added that the victims were initially forced to march hundreds of kilometers into the forests of Birnin Gwari.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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