The nine police officers kidnapped along Katsina-Zamfara Road about two weeks ago have regained their freedom.
They were successfully rescued, said the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Frank Mba, in a statement on Friday.
Mba’s statement reads: “The Nigeria Police have successfully rescued Nine (9) Police Officers who earlier went missing on 8th November, 2020 between Kankara town and Sheme in Katsina State after the night commercial bus they were travelling in came under attack by heavily armed men, all dressed in Military Camouflage, but suspected to be bandits.
“The officers, all Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), were on their way to Gusau in Zamfara State from Maiduguri at the time of the incident. Two of the officers are currently receiving medical attention in a hospital, while the remaining seven are being debriefed.
“Covert operation to locate and rescue the officers commenced immediately they were discovered missing en-route to their destination. Thus, the apparent delay in commenting on the unfortunate incident was a deliberate decision aimed at protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the rescue operation and the concomitant safety of the officers. It is also important to state that preliminary investigation has shown that the attack on the vehicle was an opportunistic crime as the officers were all travelling in mufti, unarmed and alongside other private citizens in the commercial vehicle. The total number of officers involved in the incident is nine (9) and not twelve (12) as previously, wrongly reported in some sections of the media.”
