Troops of the 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Benin, have rescued 14 kidnap victims following an operation along the Lagos-Benin Expressway.

Capt. Kennedy Anyanwu, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 4 Brigade Nigerian Army, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.

Anyanwu said the operation, which took place in the Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo section of the road, was carried out by troops participating in Operation WABAIZIGAN.

The rescue, he said, followed a kidnap incident along the highway on Thursday night.

According to him, the troops on routine patrol received credible intelligence on the incident at about 9:30 p.m. and immediately launched a pursuit of the kidnappers along their escape route.

“The sustained pressure mounted by the troops forced the kidnappers to abandon 11 abducted victims before fleeing into the surrounding forest.

“Troops subsequently launched a follow-up clearance operation in the forest on Friday, leading to the rescue of the remaining three victims.

“All 14 rescued victims underwent preliminary debriefing and medical assessment and were confirmed to be in stable condition,” he said.

Anyanwu noted that the victims had since been reunited with their families and allowed to continue their journeys.

He added that efforts were ongoing to track down and apprehend the fleeing kidnappers.

According to him, the operation underscored Army’s operational readiness and intelligence-driven approach to tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes, in collaboration with other security agencies.

He, however, urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to support ongoing operations against criminal elements.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the 4 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Balogun, commended the troops for their professionalism, resilience and courage during the operation.

Balogun reassured residents of Edo and commuters using the Lagos-Benin Expressway of the brigade’s commitment to protecting lives and property.

He said troops would sustain aggressive operations to deny criminal elements safe havens and ensure a secure environment for law-abiding citizens.