Troops of the Nigerian Army, in separate operations, have arrested a gunrunning syndicate and foiled a kidnap attempt in Taraba and Benue states respectively.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The statement partly read, “In Taraba State, troops, in collaboration with vigilantes, acted on actionable intelligence to apprehend one Mansir Mohammed at Jalingo Motor Park, who has been reportedly involved in gun-running activities with terrorists.
“His arrest led to the nabbing of other members of his syndicate and the recovery of one Semi Automatic Pump Action gun, one locally fabricated gun, a Peugeot car, five mobile phones, and the sum of N45,000 only.”
Additionally, soldiers on routine patrol at Miyande Village in Takum Local Government Area of the state also intercepted two terrorist suspects who concealed an automatic rifle underneath the seat of a motorbike on which they rode.
One AK- 47 rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and a motorcycle were recovered from them.
Meanwhile, in Benue State, soldiers responded to a distress call about a kidnap attempt where one kidnapper was killed during the intervention.
The statement added, “In another development, troops responded to a distress call and successfully foiled a kidnap attempt within Zaki-Biam Town in Zaki-Biam Local Government Area of Benue State.
“During the intervention, troops neutralised one kidnapper in a shootout with the criminals and recovered a Beretta pistol with four rounds of 9 mm ammunition.”
In April, troops of the Nigerian Army, foiled an attempt by terrorists to kidnap some Christians returning from a church programme in Taraba State.
