The rescue operation led to the freedom of forty-nine individuals held by kidnappers within the Gongomaliki Mountain area in the Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State. This successful mission was the result of combined efforts from the police, expert hunters, and local vigilante groups, leveraging on strategic intelligence.
The Taraba State Police Commissioner, David Iloyonomon, highlighted the operation as part of an overarching strategy to counteract various crimes plaguing the state, such as kidnapping, robbery, banditry, and cattle rustling. The strategy involves a collaborative approach, incorporating local hunters and vigilantes into the police efforts to safeguard the citizens and their properties.
Iloyonomon detailed how local hunters, based on actionable intelligence, launched an offensive against the kidnappers’ stronghold on Gong-Gongmaliki Mountain in Ardo-Kola LGA, Taraba State. This assault led to a fierce confrontation, resulting in the death of numerous kidnappers, while others sustained injuries and fled. The hunters were able to rescue 40 victims from captivity, who were then provided medical care, counseling, and treatment at a police clinic. Among the rescued were individuals with severe injuries, including one victim who had lost an eye to the kidnappers’ brutality.
Following the rescue, the police dispatched a tactical team from the anti-kidnapping unit to continue operations in the area, aiming to apprehend the kidnappers’ accomplices and any fleeing suspects. This team successfully arrested ten kidnappers in the vicinity of Mallum and Kasuwan Ladi in Ardo-Kola LGA, recovering firearms in the process.
Commissioner Iloyonomon reaffirmed the Taraba State Police Command’s commitment to relentlessly combat the multifaceted security challenges in the state, promising continuous operations against criminal elements to ensure lasting peace in the region.