Troops of Sector 2, Operation Fansan Yamma, rescued 18 kidnapped persons and arrested two suspected members of the Lakurawa terrorist group in separate counter-terrorism operations across Zamfara State on Monday.
In the first operation, troops responded to a distress call reporting terrorists sighted on the outskirts of Sabon Gari village in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area. On arrival, they engaged the terrorists and rescued 18 abducted persons, including a local resident, Alhaji Aminu Dayau, and his children. Some of the terrorists escaped across a river with other captives before troops could reach them. The military says efforts to locate and rescue the remaining victims are ongoing.
In a separate, intelligence driven operation, troops arrested two suspected Lakurawa members, identified as Abdul Rahman Bouye and Mohammed Jamilu, both nationals of Niger Republic, over alleged involvement in planting improvised explosive devices along the Zurmi-MSR road. Both suspects remain in military custody pending handover to the Department of State Services for further investigation.
The operations form part of a wider counter-terrorism push across Nigeria's North-West, where Lakurawa, a relatively new armed group blamed for a string of attacks in Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara states, has increasingly been targeted alongside long-established banditry networks.