Nigeria Frees 308 Abducted in Mass Rescue
Nigeria’s president said security forces had freed 308 people held by kidnappers in a single coordinated operation, hailing it as the country’s largest such rescue. Those released had been seized in a wave of mass abductions that has terrorised parts of the country. The government cast the operation as a breakthrough in its fight against the kidnapping gangs.
Mass kidnappings for ransom have become a scourge across northern and central Nigeria, with armed gangs seizing schoolchildren, worshippers and travellers by the hundred and holding them for money. The rescue, if the numbers hold, would be a rare and significant success for security forces long accused of failing to protect rural communities. Officials gave few details of how the operation was carried out or whether ransoms were paid. The abductions have fuelled deep insecurity and anger at the state. Watch whether the authorities can sustain the pressure on the gangs.