Bassa: Troops of Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) have successfully rescued a retired senior army officer, Col. Joseph Ajanaku, who was abducted by gunmen in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau. A credible Army Headquarters source revealed that the retired officer was kidnapped from his residence opposite the Salvation Army Church along Rukuba Road at about 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 5.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the troops of Sectors 1 and 3 swiftly responded to the incident and trailed the kidnappers along their withdrawal route through the Wildlife Park axis. The operation was conducted in collaboration with a Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) tracking team and local vigilantes, focusing on caves and rocky high grounds suspected to be criminal hideouts.
Later in the day, at about 2:00 p.m., the kidnappers contacted Col. Ajanaku’s wife, demanding a ransom of N200 million. The kidnappers threatened to kill the abducted officer if the search-and-rescue operations continued, prompting the troops to shift to a covert approach.
The covert operations proved successful when Col. Ajanaku was rescued at about 5:30 p.m. on the outskirts of the Rafiki axis in Bassa LGA. The rescued officer is currently undergoing medical evaluation at the OPSH Medical Centre and will be debriefed to obtain actionable intelligence for follow-up operations.