Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Inspector General of Police Tunji Disu has deployed a rescue team to Niger State following the abduction of scores of people from communities in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.
The rescue team is headed by by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Victor Olaiya.
The rescue team also has the components of the state tactical team, counter terrorism squad, the Director of State Security DSS, and the military.
The Coordinator of the newly established Niger State Security Situation Room, who is also the Commissioner for Homeland Security, Mr Maurice Magaji, said government has provided every logistic needed for the operation of the rescue team.
Other members of the situation room are the State Director of State Security DSS, and the Commissioner of Police CP.
Magaji lamented the incident that led to the mass abduction of the villagers but said government was determined to rescue all the victims.
The Commissioner of Police, represented by the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Police, Wasiu Abiodun, said the rescue operation commenced yesterday, adding that all available platforms had been deployed to ensure quick rescue of the victims.
Abiodun who said the police were still working with the locals to know the number of those abducted and those that lost their lives, debunked claims that there was no police presence in the sacked communities.
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient while the rescue operation lasted because “rescue operation is delicate to save lives, we should not lose lives”
Catholic Bishops Decry Borgu Attack
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), has expressed concern over what it described as unabated violence sweeping across the country.
The bishops condemned the violent abduction of over 60 Muslim worshippers from a mosque in Borgu, Niger State.
In a statement by the CBCN President, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, on behalf of the Catholic hierarchy, the bishops said as part of their prophetic mandate, which extended to every Nigerian, regardless of creed, they were rallying support for attacked Muslim worshippers.
The Bishops said they were worried over the fresh wave of terror, including the violent abduction of over 60 Muslim worshippers from a mosque in Borgu, Niger State, and a horrific massacre in Ukum, Benue State, where 47 citizens were killed and 17 others critically wounded.
While extending deep sympathies to the bereaved in Benue, the Bishops aligned themselves directly with the Muslim community in Niger State, praying for and demanding the immediate, safe release of all 60 abducted worshippers. Quoting Genesis 4:10,
“The blood of your brother cries out to me from the ground,” they said, adding that no political, ethnic, or religious cause could ever justify such cruelty.