A tipper driver, simply identified as Musa, and three labourers abducted by some gunmen have been rescued by operatives of the Rubochi Divisional Police Headquarters and vigilantes in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to a member of the vigilante group, who participated in the rescue operation, the incident took place on Wednesday at about 10 am.
He disclosed that the rescued victims unfortunately ran into the kidnappers after leaving Abaji town to load timber in a forest within Dnago village in Gwargwada Chiefdom of Kuje Council.
The vigilante member, preferring anonymity because of the security implications, hinted that the labourers were loading timber into the tipper when the marauding gunmen suddenly appeared at the scene and immediately rounded them up.
“The kidnappers were moving with the victims when vigilantes, upon receiving information, alerted the police who joined them to engage the criminals in a gun battle and rescued the tipper driver and the three labourers”, he told some reporters.
Though the vigilante could not confirm if there were casualties during the exchange of fire, he described the operation as ‘huge success’, attributing it to the prompt response from the Police operatives and courage also displayed by the vigilante group.
Meanwhile, there has not been any official reaction from the FCT Police Command as of the time of filing the report, but an insider who also preferred anonymity because he has no permission to speak on the issue, confirmed the victims’ rescue.
He said the FCT Police Commissioner is quite happy with the “great job” being done by operatives to clear the nation’s capital of criminals and criminality.
