A joint operation by Kogi vigilantes and local hunters has forced suspected kidnappers to abandon a 41-year-old Dangote Cement worker they seized during a pipeline project in Obajana, Kogi State.
The victim, identified as Muri Sadiq, was rescued unharmed after security operatives regrouped and returned to the forest in a second operation to pursue the abductors.
The Kogi State Vigilante Service (KSVS) said the incident began on November 4, when armed men attacked workers laying a pipeline for Dangote Cement in a forest area of Obajana.
According to the service’s Public Relations Officer, Idris S. Idris, operatives of the Zariagi Sub-Command moved in after receiving a distress call and engaged the attackers in a gun battle.
Although the operatives reportedly wounded some of the gunmen, the suspects escaped with Sadiq.
Rather than abandon the pursuit, the vigilantes regrouped, mobilised reinforcements and enlisted the support of local hunters for another search operation.
The renewed pressure reportedly forced the kidnappers to release their captive and flee, paving the way for his recovery.
The KSVS Comptroller-General, Ibrahim Usman Anataku, praised the operatives for their determination and commended the hunters for supporting the rescue effort.
He also acknowledged Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s support for the service, urging security personnel to sustain operations against criminal groups.
Anataku warned kidnappers and other criminal elements to leave the state, declaring that the vigilante service would continue working with conventional security agencies to tackle insecurity.
He appealed to residents to provide timely intelligence, assuring them that the identities of informants would be protected.
