Troops of the Nigerian Army rescued 30 kidnapped persons in separate operations across Niger, Plateau and Bauchi states. The report was released on Tuesday. Twenty-one victims were rescued at Sabon Wuri and Abaha communities in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger. Troops from 391 Army Regiment, 48 Battalion, 178 Battalion and 18 Brigade Quick Response Force conducted a fighting patrol, engaged the kidnappers, and found the victims during exploitation of the area.
In Plateau, troops rescued four people along the Rafin Sanyi to Forest axis in Riyom Local Government Area. The kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled. In Bauchi, troops rescued a woman and her baby at Bogwas in Alkaleri Local Government Area. The pair had been abducted about three weeks earlier from the Mai Ari area, and their captors left them in the bush after an encounter with troops. Three more victims escaped during a firefight at Dajin Madam and were picked up at Duguri.
The report also covers a kill. Troops at a blocking position in Kukawa engaged a large group of terrorists on motorcycles near Wanka Village in Kanam Local Government Area, Plateau. One was killed and the others fled. Four motorcycles, two mobile phones and substances suspected to be illicit drugs were recovered.
Then there is Kwara, which is the part that matters most. Suspected terrorists infiltrated Usin Gada community in Ilorin East Local Government Area on foot early Tuesday. They killed one resident, injured three and abducted one before fleeing. The injured were taken to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, and the abducted person has not been found. Kwara is not in the usual theatre of operations. That is the point.
Thirty rescues in one week is a good week, and the troops who did it deserve the credit. But rescues are not deterrence. The 2022 train attack showed what happens when a kidnap gang holds a large group and the state needs months to respond. The difference now is that operations are quicker and intelligence is better. The difference is also that the gangs have dispersed into smaller units, which are cheaper to run and harder to find.
The trade-off is visible in the numbers. Thirty people are back with their families. One man in Kwara is dead, three are in hospital, and one is still missing. The military can only be in so many places. Every operation in Mariga is an operation not conducted in Ilorin East. Kidnappers understand this arithmetic better than the ministries that fund the patrols.
The other unanswered question is prosecution. The report says the rescued victims are in military custody for further action. It says nothing about arrests of the kidnappers. Four motorcycles and two phones are exhibits. No suspect is named. A rescue without a trial leaves the gang intact, minus a few bikes.
Winners: The 30 rescued people and their families. The units involved, which performed well. The Defence Headquarters, which has a good operational report. Losers: The dead and injured in Kwara. The family still waiting for one abducted person. The justice system, which will likely never see these cases.
Bottom Line: Thirty rescues is a good week and a poor strategy. Until a kidnapper is arrested, tried and sentenced, the patrol is a fire brigade, not a police force.