File photo: Victim rescued by the Nigerian Army troops from Boko Haram captivity in Borno on 16/11/2019
A civil society organisation, the Centre for Security and Peace Advancement (CSPA), has urged Nigerians to appreciate the complexities confronting security forces during rescue operations involving kidnapped victims held in remote forests.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Abdul Ganiyu, made the call while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ganiyu said public demands for immediate large-scale military assaults on kidnappers’ hideouts often failed to take into account the risks such operations could pose to innocent captives.
According to him, military operations are guided by the overriding responsibility to protect lives, including those of hostages who may be used as human shields by criminal elements.
He said kidnappers frequently disperse victims across multiple locations within dense forests, making direct assaults highly risky.
“The public must understand that rescue missions are not as simple as sending troops into a forest and engaging criminals.
“In many cases, victims are surrounded by heavily armed kidnappers who may kill hostages at the slightest indication of an approaching military force,” he said.
Ganiyu said security agencies often relied on painstaking intelligence gathering, surveillance and carefully coordinated operations to create opportunities for successful rescues while minimising casualties.
He noted that forests used by kidnappers were often vast, rugged and difficult to navigate, with criminal groups possessing extensive knowledge of the terrain.
According to him, such conditions require detailed planning to avoid ambushes, friendly-fire incidents and unintended harm to civilians.
Ganiyu said experiences from counter-terrorism and anti-banditry operations across the world had shown that rushed military offensives could sometimes trigger the killing of hostages.
He said operational decisions must be guided by intelligence, professionalism and the safety of those being held captive rather than public pressure.
The CSPA executive director commended members of the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies and other security services for their efforts in securing the release of abducted persons under difficult circumstances.
He also called on communities to support security agencies with credible intelligence that could help identify criminal hideouts, movement patterns and logistics networks.
He said security forces must continue to carefully assess every situation before launching kinetic operations against criminal groups. (NAN)
