Troops Foil Attempted Kidnap Along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway

Troops of the Operation Thunder Strike have foiled an attempted kidnap of passengers along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway by armed bandits.

This was confirmed by the Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche in a statement issued on Friday.

Enenche noted that the operation was carried out on June 25 under the auspices of the ongoing Operation Accord.

“Sequel to actionable Human Intelligence on the activities of armed bandits between Olams and Alheri camp along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, troops promptly deployed to the scene and engaged the bandits with effective firepower.

“Troops overwhelmed the criminals with high-intensity fire, forcing them to abandon their heinous mission and fled into the forest in disarray.

“As troops engaged the bandits, passengers in the targeted vehicle, a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number Lagos MUS-944FR travelling from Abuja to Kaduna, managed to escape in various directions into the surrounding bushes,” the statement partly read.

The defence spokesman noted that the troops, adopting an aggressive posture, pursued the bandits deep into the forest and inflicted fatal injuries on them while also exhibiting the requisite composure in recovering all the passengers who escaped into the bush during the encounter.

Meanwhile, the military has begun a massive manhunt for the fleeing bandits with aggressive patrols along the axis.

This comes as efforts made to get the passengers unhurt yielded positive results as they have been accounted for.