Troops of the Nigerian Army, I Division, have rescued 16 abducted victims in Kajuru, Kaduna State.

They also averted a kidnap attempt by an extremist group.

“The Nigerian Army troops deployed in 1 Division area of responsibility in Kaduna State have successfully averted a kidnap attempt by a violent extremist and insurgent group and rescued the abductees in Tantatu Community of Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State,” the Director of Army Public Relations Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said in a late Monday statement.

According to him, the troops were responding to intelligence on Sunday night when they tracked the insurgents who had abducted some persons in the village.

“On arriving at the scene of the incident, the troops tenaciously pursued the insurgents, engaging them in a ferocious exchange of fire and consequently rescuing 16 kidnapped victims,” the statement read.

“The troops are still exploiting the bushes in continuation of the search and rescue operations to extricate other victims and balk the nefarious activities of the insurgents.”

Following the rescue, the Chief of Army Staff Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja lauded the troops for the successful outing and charged them to remain vigilant in the conduct of ongoing counter-insurgency operations to liberate all troubled areas in the country.