The Nigerian Army said its troops rescued four kidnapped victims during a military offensive against a suspected bandit enclave in Katsina State, as operations continued against a wanted terrorist leader whose network had been linked to a wave of abductions in the North-West region.
According to a statement from military authorities, the operation took place on Tuesday in Fafu Village along the Matazu-Musawa axis.
Troops from the 17 Brigade Strike Group and 8 Division Special Forces, supported by air surveillance from Operation FANSAN YAMMA, conducted a ground assault on what the military described as a terrorist hideout.
The army claimed that its forces engaged the bandits with “overwhelming firepower,” forcing them to flee and abandon their captives. Four victims were subsequently recovered from the camp, the statement said.
The rescued individuals were evacuated to the Forward Operating Base in Matazu, where they were received by Major General B.P. Koughna, General Officer Commanding 8 Division.
Two of the hostages sustained gunshot wounds — which the military attributed to their abductors — and were transferred to the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina for treatment. Their current condition remained unclear at the time of reporting.
Preliminary military investigations indicated that the victims were originally abducted on 14 April 2026 from Sabon Sara along the Matazu-Karaduwa Road.
They were reportedly held alongside the late Major General Rabe Abubakar (rtd) and his wife, both of whom had previously been in captivity. The army did not clarify whether the late general and his wife were still in the bandits’ custody at the time of Tuesday’s rescue.
The military identified the primary target of the ongoing offensive as Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani, a notorious bandit leader whose criminal network had been blamed for multiple attacks and mass abductions across Katsina and neighbouring states.
“Troops remain on the trail of Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani and other criminal elements and will continue to sustain aggressive operations until all those responsible for acts of terror against innocent citizens are apprehended or neutralised,” the statement read.
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