A joint military task force has freed a senior Nigerian Army officer and a civilian who were held for 10 days in Enugu state.
The rescued men are Lt. Col. Ofor Amobi and Ikechukwu Onwuanra. According to counter-insurgency outlet Zagazola Makama, they were found in the early hours of Friday, August 1, abandoned at the edge of a forest in Oji River LGA.
The operation involved personnel from the 82 Division Garrison, 103 Battalion (Rear), the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service, and the 197 Special Forces Battalion, with air support. Between 6:00 p.m. on July 31 and 6:00 a.m. on August 1, troops combed Inyi, Awlaw, and Akpugo-Eze forests and surrounding communities, acting on intelligence.
The breakthrough came around 2:00 a.m. when the DPO of Inyi Division flagged a suspected location. Troops moved in and found both men. Onwuanra had a gunshot wound. They were first taken to Inyi and later moved to the 82 Division medical hospital for treatment and evaluation.
In initial debriefing, the victims said they were blindfolded right after being abducted and taken to an unknown location. They were later left in a forest near the Enugu-Anambra border after their captors came under heavy pressure from the military.
Military sources said constant air and ground operations boxed the kidnappers in and limited their movement, which forced them to abandon the captives and flee.
Searches are still ongoing to track down those responsible for the abduction.
