Police rescue nine kidnap victims on Katsina, two still missing

Nine victims abducted by kidnappers along the Katsina-Kankara highway have been rescued by operatives of the Katsina State Police Command, while efforts are ongoing to locate two others who remain missing.

Security operatives responded to a distress call and effected the rescue following a kidnapping incident that occurred on Friday at Tashar Kanya Village in Kankara Local Government Area of the state.

DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, the command’s spokesman, said in a statement that the incident occurred at about 2:30 pm when armed bandits blocked the Katsina–Kankara Road and intercepted a red commercial Volkswagen Golf III saloon car with registration number KMC 400 MK.

He said, “The vehicle, driven by a 40-year-old man identified as Aliyu, popularly known as Maitakabari, was conveying 11 passengers from Dandume to Katsina when the gunmen abducted all the occupants.”

Upon receiving the distress report, Aliyu said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Kankara immediately mobilised a team of operatives, including personnel from the Violent Crime Rescue Unit (VCRU), to the scene, where they reportedly engaged the bandits in a fierce gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee into surrounding bush due to the superior firepower and tactical manoeuvres of the police team.

During a subsequent search of the area, he said operatives successfully rescued nine victims unhurt. The rescued persons were identified as Abubakar Ibrahim, 28; Rakiya Ya’u, 30; Shamsiya Ahmad Mahamud, 18; Jumai Majarazu, 20; Salamatu Adamu, 30; Yusuf Halliru, 17; Harira Hamisu, 25; Umma Kabir, 17; and three-year-old Nusaiba Maharazu.

Aliyu stated that two persons, Buhari Kabir and the driver, Aliyu “Maitakabari”, are still missing, adding that a search-and-rescue operation is ongoing to ensure their safe recovery and the arrest of the fleeing suspects.

The Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, Ali Umar Fage, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to combating criminal activity across the state while commending the professionalism displayed by the operatives.

He assured residents that the police would continue to intensify efforts to rid Katsina State of criminal elements and urged members of the public to support security agencies with timely and credible information.

Police rescue nine kidnap victims on Katsina, two still missing