Operatives of the Kogi State Vigilante Service (KSVS) and local hunters have rescued a Dangote Cement worker who was abducted by suspected kidnappers in a forest area of Obajana, the agency said on Saturday.
The attack happened on Nov. 4 at about 2:00 p.m. (1300 GMT), when workers laying a pipeline for Dangote Cement inside the forest were set upon by suspected kidnappers, according to a statement from the KSVS Public Relations Officer, Idris S. Idris.
Operatives from the service’s Zariagi Sub-Command responded to a distress call and engaged the gunmen in a shootout inside the forest. The statement said the KSVS team had superior firepower and that the suspects were wounded to varying degrees. They nonetheless escaped with one of the workers, identified as Muri Sadiq.
The vigilantes and local hunters then regrouped, brought in reinforcements and launched a second operation to rescue the victim. The statement said that forced the suspects to abandon their captive. Sadiq, 41, was recovered unharmed, it said.
The KSVS Comptroller-General, Ibrahim Usman Anataku, praised the operatives for their bravery and urged them to maintain the pace of operations. He also thanked Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his support and encouragement of the service.
Anataku warned criminal elements to stop their activities or leave the state, saying the KSVS, working with other security agencies, would not tolerate criminality. He appealed to members of the public for real-time intelligence and promised to keep the identities of informants and the information they provide confidential.
