A commando style sting operation by members of The Joint Task Force (JTF) on a hideout of a militant gang operating on the waters of oil-producing Cross River State, has led to the rescue of 27 abducted oil workers, a navy spokesman said on Sunday.
Lt. Commander Ajibola Olabisi said: “It was a joint military operation involving the Navy and the Army. Twenty-seven oil workers were rescued on Friday, while one is still missing.”
Twenty eight workers of Sinopec, an oil-servicing company, were kidnapped on Thursday in Ikang, near the state capital Calabar, by an armed gang called the Lactop Marine Force.
Lt. Commander Olabisi added that members of the gang had been terrorising residents of the area for a long time before the troops moved in to dislodge them.
“The criminals fled as soon as our men stormed their hideout. Nobody was either killed or injured during the operation,” he said, adding that the military were on the trail of the kidnappers.