The victims, who were abducted at about 1am on Wednesday, were being taken to Nasarawa State before police officers caught up with them, with the help of soldiers of the Nigerian Army who were mounting a military checkpoint.
The spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, made the development known in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement read, “FCT police operatives attached to Asokoro Police Divisional Headquarters, in a coordinated operation and continued effort against criminality in FCT, rescued two kidnapped victims in the early hours of January 31, 2024, at about 1am.
“Following the report of the abduction of two persons later identified as Sarah Hassan and one Mrs Erima Bobo-John at Kobi community of Abuja, in the early hours of today (Wednesday) by some armed hoodlums, police operatives of Asokoro Divisional Headquarters swiftly swung into action and trailed the kidnappers to Nyanya/Keffi Road, where they were blocked by operatives of the Nigerian Army on checkpoint operations.”
The command’s spokesperson noted that a gunfight ensued when the suspected bandits sighted the police operatives. Consequently, the bandits were overpowered and forced to abandon their victims.
The statement added, “On sighting the police operatives, the bandits engaged them in a gun duel and were outlasted by the firepower of the police, which forced them to abandon the victims and scamper to safety through the nearby forest. The victims who have been reunited with their families, were rescued unhurt.”
On January 17, members of the Middle-Belt Youth Forum protested the rising cases of kidnapping in the region and the insecurity that has ravaged parts of the country.
This came against the backdrop of the arrest of 10 suspected bandits by the military.
