From TERESE TUHWA, Makurdi
Troops of 72 Special Force Battalion under 401 Special Brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. A. Rabiu, have rescued the kidnapped Caretaker Chairman of Ukum Local Government Council, Rev. Gideon Haanongon.
The council chairman and his personal assistant who have been in the kidnappers’ den for about two weeks in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area.
Brig. Gen. A. Rabiu said they acted on a distress call, carried out a rescue mission and in the process, destroyed three (3) camps of the kidnappers.
“When we recovered him, we brought him down to our barracks in Makurdi. We administered first aid to him and also gave him food to eat. He is in good condition”.
While narrating his ordeal to reporters, Rev. Gideon Haanongon said on that fateful day, he was on his way to attend the burial of late Ter Katsina-Ala and around Anyagba, he came in contact with some strange boys who were shooting sporadically and even killed someone.
“At that point, I told my driver to stop the car and they took us straight into the bush.
“They covered my face throughout the period of my captivity. I did not know when it was daytime or night. They kept us inside a thatched house without air.
“Each day, the soldiers will come shooting but they manoeuvred their way through a bush path and hid us inside a river. The soldiers destroyed their camps and they kept moving us to another place.
“At a point, they told me that these soldiers are disturbing them because of me and that the Governor had appealed to them to release me and he would forgive them. They said I should tell the governor to keep to his words and get them out of the bush. So, at 8pm on Wednesday, we crossed a stream and trekked a very long distance almost like from Makurdi to Abinsi and they removed the blindfold and asked me to take a path that leads to Zaki-Biam.
“But I recognized the village which is Tse Wombo because my daughter is married there. I must appreciate the effort of the military because it was their persistent pressure that made the kidnappers release me.
Also, the Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Security, Lt. Col. Alexander Igbaya Ashungu (rtd) played a significant role in my release.
In a reaction, the security adviser, Alexander Igbaya Ashungu (rtd) commended the military for its determination in ensuring the release of the council chairman.
He assured that Governor Hyacinth Alia was working hard to see that criminals do not have their ways in the state.
He said the government was meeting with stakeholders to find solution to criminality and other vices.
The security adviser equally disclosed that the military authority has rescued over 13 kidnapped victims recently.
It will be recalled that the Caretaker Chairman of Ukum Local Government Council, Rev. Gideon Haanongon, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen about three weeks ago on his way to attend the burial of a traditional ruler, the Ter Katsina-Ala, late Chief Fezanga Wombo.
