How Security Operatives Rescued  20 Kidnapped Medical Students, House Officer

By Adesina Soyooye

Joy unlimited has greeted the rescue, by Security Operatives, of 20 Medical Students and a Medical Officer from the den of their kidnappers.

Nigeria faced a huge embarrassment when on August 16, 20 Medical Students – males and females – from the Universities of Maiduguri and Jos, and a (Medical) House Officer, were kidnapped.

They were on their way to Enugu for a convention of Catholic Medical Students when their vehicle was intercepted by kidnappers in the Otukpo area of Benue State.

The incident sparked a national outrage and an international embarrassment for Nigeria.

However, on Friday, August 23, the good news that the 20 students and the Medical Officer have been rescued broke.

Their rescue, without any casualty, was not easy as it required a huge dose of intelligence gathering and surveillance.

The Police had to deploy helicopters to overfly forests within Benue State and nearby States.

It took a combination of Security Operatives from the Military, Department of State Services and the Police, with the help and cooperation of the Benue State Government to rescue them.

However the details of their rescue is still shrouded in secrecy. For instance, it is not known if there was a shoot-out between the hoodlums and Security Operatives; if there were injuries, the exact place and/or  State from where they were rescued; their state of health, and if any ransome money was paid or not.

Recall that earlier, the hoodlums had asked for the sum of N50 million in exchange for the release of the abducted.