Operatives of Department of State Security (DSS) in a joint operation have rescued four kidnapped victims.
Gatekeepers News reports that the successful rescue mission followed an operation carried out at the Bandits’ Den by the team where 36 victims were rescued on Monday.
The victims who were abducted from different communities in Sokoto and Zamfara states had been held in the forest before their rescue.
This was announced in a statement by the Director of Press Affairs, Deputy Governor’s office, Sokoto State Garba Mohammed, on Friday, January 10, 2024.
In an interview, one of the rescued victims, Malam Umar Umar Dankoli Kagarar Rima, revealed the Bandits kidnapped him along with his thirteen old grand granddaughter26 days.
He said while in their hands, the kidnappers demanded 50 million naira as ransom and later reduced it to 10 million naira.
Malam Umar Dankoli said that after some days, only one million naira was raised through contributions and was taken to the Bandits by his eldest son about 9 days ago.
The victim further said upon reaching the bandit’s camp, his son was also retained by the Bandits and insisted on 10 million naira ransom for their release.
Malam Umar Dankoli said that since then, they remained in the hands of bandits until today when they were rescued by the joint patrol team at the Bandit camp.
Also, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Colonel Abdulhamid Usman said the success being recorded by the Security in tackling banditry may not be unconnected with the support being given to security by Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto.
He said that in the last eleven days, significant successes were being recorded in the fight against banditry in the state.
Retired Colonel Abdulhamid urged the people to continue to give useful information to security agencies to enable them to achieve more success.
