Troops of the Nigerian Army have successfully dislodged a kidnapping syndicate that had been terrorizing residents of Borno and Zamfara, rescuing a Catholic priest, Alphonsus Afina, and 32 others.
The operation carried out in collaboration with the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), follows weeks after the victims were abducted by suspected members of Boko Haram terrorist group.
As gathered, the cleric who previously served in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, was rescued seven weeks after he was abducted alongside some unspecified number of fellow travellers on the Liman Kara, Gwoza Road in Gwoza local government area of the state.
The Catholic priest was travelling from Mubi in Adamawa State to Maiduguri, when his vehicle was ambushed at a military checkpoint after a rocket-propelled grenade struck one of the vehicles in his convoy, killing one occupant.
Afina was rescued alongside 10 women during the joint operation in Borno, while the remaining victims, women and young boys were retrieved in a separate exercise in the Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara.
In celebration of the priest’s release, the Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Borno State, John Bakeni, praised the gallantry and tactical intelligence of the troops who rescued the 11 victims unharmed and without ransom.
Bishop Bakeni noted that the global Catholic community was overjoyed to hear that Father Alphonsus Afina had regained his freedom after nearly two months in captivity.
He also emphasized the need for sustained collaboration between security agencies and local communities in the ongoing fight against insurgency.
