Nigeria army officers working in lock step with Israeli government agents have rescued a kidnapped Israeli working in Taraba State.
The many simply identified as Itamar was kidnapped on last Thursday. while driving himself to a location. Israeli embassy official made efforts to free him from the kidnaps and after 24 hours of joint work with the Nigerian military, they were able to locate and rescue the man without any incident of shooting.
Nigerian police initially claimed the Israeli was abducted while under military escort, but the Nigerian Army denied the report, calling the police statement “false and misleading.” The army stated that the victim had been traveling alone in his vehicle without a military escort or driver at the time of the kidnapping.
According to the Nigerian military, the operation was led by the commander of the 93rd Battalion and relied on close coordination with local community leaders in Kofai Ahmadu, Apko and Chanchangi. No shots were fired during the rescue mission.
The army said “strategic pressure” was applied to village elders and local youth leaders, resulting in critical intelligence that ultimately led to the Israeli’s release.
Officials emphasized that in such cases, the likelihood of the hostage’s safe recovery increases significantly the faster a release is secured.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The Israeli embassy in Nigeria and the department for Israelis abroad coordinated the rescue of an Israeli citizen in the northeastern region of the country. The citizen is safe and unharmed.”
