A collaborative security operation including the Taraba State Police Command, local hunters, and vigilantes resulted in the rescue of over 40 abduction victims in the state’s Yorro and Zing Local Government Areas.
Taraba State Police Commissioner David Iloyanomon made the announcement at a press briefing in Jalingo on Monday.
According to Iloyanomon, the liberated hostages were transported to a clinic for assessment and treatment after being rescued.
According to the police commissioner, the freed hostages were kidnapped from rural areas in the Yorro and Zing Local Government Areas of the state.
It was gathered that the kidnappers’ den, located at Gongomaliki Mountain, was dislodged on Saturday by the hunters and vigilantes who were on a rescue mission.
“The combined team of police, hunters, and vigilantes acting on intelligence combed the mountains and rescued 40 victims. Ten kidnapping suspects were arrested after they were dislodged from the mountains around Mallum and Kashuan Laadi in the neighbouring Ardo-Kola Local Government Area of the state.
“One AK47 and a Dane gun were recovered from the kidnappers, and currently the police and the hunters are on the trail of the kidnappers.”
While urging the public to work with security agencies to combat crime, the CP stated that the command will continue to work with local security forces to ensure that the state is free of criminals.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
