After many years in captivity, nine women, including expectant and nursing mothers, have been rescued by security operatives from terrorists who held them in a remote forest.
Military authorities confirmed that the women were freed during a high-risk operation aimed at disrupting the insurgent’s plans to relocate abductees, with the insurgents believed to be members of the Sadiku terrorist faction.
Most of the women had been held captive for over a year, during which many were subjected to forced unions that resulted in pregnancies and childbirth while in hiding.
The military on Thursday, disclosed that four of the rescued women were among the 25 victims abducted on February 14, 2024, during a deadly attack in the Allawa area of Shiroro Local Government Area.
The victims had been returning from the Pandogari market when gunmen ambushed them, killing six and taking dozens hostage.
Also among the rescued is a woman identified as one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls, who were abducted in 2014 from their school in Borno State.
The daring rescue was initiated when the captors attempted to transport the women in commercial buses under disguise.
As gathered, one of the abductees took advantage of a brief stop to alert locals, triggering a swift police response that led to the arrest of the driver and the disruption of the terrorists’ plans.
Sources familiar with the operation revealed that the abducted women were being moved from Palu-Waya forest, a known terrorist enclave, possibly en route to Kaiji Forest in Borgu or even further into Kebbi State.
However, the plan was foiled in Kagara, Rafi Local Government Area, where security operatives intercepted the convoy and carried out the rescue operation.
During the operation, which led to the arrest of the driver, various weapons hidden in a bag were recovered from the insurgents.
Following the rescue, however, community sources expressed mixed emotions, noting that while some of the women were eager to return home, others appeared emotionally bonded with their captors.
“There are women who now see these terrorists as husbands,” a distraught family member revealed.
“Some are refusing to reintegrate with their families, claiming they still remember the phone numbers of their abductors.”
Meanwhile, the state police confirmed that the women are currently receiving medical care and psychological support at the police headquarters in Minna, as efforts continue to trace and dismantle the terrorist network responsible for the abductions.
