Nigerian Forces Liberate Over Sixty Hostages
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba revealed that armed forces stormed a terrorist encampment deep within Zamfara's Munhaye forest following intelligence reports of imprisoned civilians. The raid successfully extracted all 62 hostages, who now remain under protective custody as authorities work to reconnect them with relatives.
"In Kebbi State, troops acting on actionable intelligence ambushed members of the Lakurawa terrorist group… The operation, executed in Kerani village, resulted in the elimination of two terrorists," Osoba declared in an official statement.
Northwestern Nigeria faces escalating violence as criminal syndicates operating from dense woodland bases execute mass abductions. These armed factions have systematically targeted residential communities, educational institutions, and religious facilities.
Over 160 worshippers vanished from two Kaduna churches on January 18, though police commissioner Muhammad Rabiu initially labeled the claims "a falsehood" designed "to cause chaos." National law enforcement subsequently validated the kidnappings, clarifying that Rabiu's statements "were not a denial of the incident but a measured response pending confirmation of details from the field."
Additional churchgoers were seized during a Kogi State assault shortly before Christmas, following multiple large-scale abductions—including the capture of more than 300 students and personnel from St. Mary's Catholic School in Niger State.
American military aircraft struck Islamic State positions in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day after President Donald Trump charged Nigerian leadership with enabling what he characterized as Christian genocide. Abuja dismissed accusations of faith-based persecution, maintaining that violence impacts all religious communities equally.
Authorities have intensified countermeasures by deploying reinforcements and broadening campaigns designed to dismantle kidnapping rings and militant organizations.
Tuesday saw Nigerian Armed Forces report casualties among their ranks during combat operations in the Timbuktu Triangle, a historic Boko Haram fortress in the nation's northeast. Military units uncovered mass burial sites containing approximately 20 militant corpses during the incursion.
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