OPEP troops dismantle kidnap syndicates, rescue two victims in Plateau

Troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE, OPEP, on Tuesday successfully dismantled kidnapping syndicates and rescued two victims in Bassa and Kanam Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

The Media Information Officer of the joint task force, Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, who confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday, said the operations were decisive actions carried out across various LGAs in the state to weed out criminal elements.

The OPEP spokesman said the operation was conducted as part of deliberate efforts aimed at denying terrorist elements freedom of action across the state, noting that troops recorded appreciable successes, as corroborated by some eyewitnesses and community leaders.

“As part of the ongoing operations, at about 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, troops of Sector 3 deployed within Bassa Local Government Area, acting on credible information about the kidnap of one Mr Ndubuisi Onuigbo, initiated a search-and-rescue operation, leading to the successful rescue of the kidnapped victims.

“Similarly, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 26, 2026, troops of Sector 2 of Operation ENDURING PEACE, deployed at Kukawa Village in Kanam Local Government Area, during a fighting patrol, encountered suspected terrorist elements along the patrol route.

“Troops aggressively pursued the terrorists, leading to the immediate rescue of a kidnapped victim, Mallam Sambo Abdullahi, who was abandoned by the fleeing terrorists. The rescued victims have been successfully debriefed and reunited with their families,” Oteh said.

He added that the GOC of 3 Division of the Nigerian Army and Commander of the security outfit, Major General Maxwell Dangana, had commended the troops for their professionalism and decisive posture in disrupting criminal activities and proactively restoring peace and security in the Operation ENDURING PEACE Joint Operations Area.

“The Commander has further appealed for calm, caution and continued support to enable troops to achieve their mandate of restoring the desired enduring peace in the Joint Operations Area,” he stated.