Army Troops Foil Militant Abduction, Rescue Four Civilians in Bakassi Patrol Ambush

|By Adejumo Adejumo

Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 13 Brigade on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, intercepted and rescued four abducted civilians from armed militants attempting to ferry them across the Bakassi waterways into Cameroon.

The soldiers, conducting a routine patrol, halted a suspicious boat headed toward Isangele, Achibong, in the Republic of Cameroon. The armed militants, according to Army Spokesperson Major Yemi Sokoya, opened fire in a frantic bid to escape, forcing troops to counter with precise firepower that scattered the assailants into the creeks.

The victims were rescued unharmed, with their belongings recovered. No soldier sustained injury during the exchange.

Commander of the 13 Brigade, Brigadier General P.O. Alimikhena, lauded the personnel for their swift response, stressing that the operation reinforces the Brigade’s resolve to crush criminal networks exploiting coastal routes for kidnappings.

He added that troops would intensify maritime patrols, block escape corridors, and dismantle militant cells operating across Cross River and border communities. He also urged residents to share credible intelligence to aid ongoing security efforts.

The rescue comes amid a surge in kidnapping across Nigeria, particularly in coastal and border regions such as Cross River and the Niger Delta, where militant groups leverage creeks, arms inflow, and porous borders for abductions.

Nationwide, kidnapping-for-ransom remains rampant, affecting states including Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, and Kogi, and even major cities like Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.

Meanwhile, the Senate on December 3 passed for second reading a bill seeking to designate all kidnapping offences as terrorism, proposing the death penalty with no option of fine. Senate President Godswill Akpabio stressed that the measure must be fast-tracked in response to worsening insecurity.