In Bauchi, 16 hostages were rescued after police stormed a kidnappers’ hideout.

By storming kidnappers’ bases in the Lame Burra Forest in the Ningi Local Government Area of the state, police in Bauchi, Nigeria, were able to save the lives of sixteen people who had been taken hostage.

The police have eliminated a large number of kidnappers and are ramping up their attempts to capture and bring to justice the others who may have escaped with gunshot wounds.

Operation Restore Peace (ORP) forces, including police, military, and other quasi-security forces including regular patrolling local hunters, carried out the rescue.

The command’s spokesman, SP Ahmed Wakil, released a statement on Sunday claiming that on September 2, 2023, united security units raided the kidnappers’ cave on top of a mountain in the Shande area of Kurmi, a village on the fringes of Burra.

In a statement, the command identified the survivors as Zahariya Ibrahim, 17, from Dana Village, Burra; Walida Idi, 16, from Sabon da Mazai Village, Burra; Maryam Shehu, 25, from Sabon Gida Mazai Village, Burra; Abubakar Adamu, 15, from Ruwan Dinya Village, Burra; and Muntari Badamasi, 40, from Shaka Leme Village, Burra.

Isah Tashi, 20, from Kere Village, Burra; Saleh Umaru, 35, from Matigwai Village in Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano State; Ibrahim Rabi’u, 30, from Shaka Leme Village, Burra; Sani Abdullahi, 10, from Ruwan Dinya Village, Burra; and Ibrahim Rabi’u, 30, from Shaka Leme Village, Burra.

Alh. Shuaibu, of Kurmi village, Burra; Alh. Bammi, of Kongoro village, Burra; Mai Unguwa Shende village, Burra; Dantsoho Mai Shayi, of Kurmi village, Burra; and Abubakar, of Matigwai village, Sumaila Local Government Area, Kano State, were all injured and rescued.

According to Wakil, the injured victims are currently receiving care at Burra General Hospital.

Wakil claims that once the kidnappers saw the unified operative team, they opened fire. Two hours later, the operatives had successfully repelled the kidnappers with superior firepower. The result was the recovery of 16 kidnap victims; five were injured to varying degrees, while the other 11 were unharmed.