Mubarak Iliya, a 23-year-old kidnapped victim from Gatawa village in Sokoto State who got lost in the wilderness, has been rescued by the Niger State Police Command.
On May 22, 2025, at around 11:00 a.m., police officers from the 12 PMF stationed at the Mararaban Dan-Daudu pin-down site discovered 23-year-old Mubarak Iliya roaming in the jungle, according to SP Wasiu Abiodun, the Police Public Relations Officer in Minna.
He said that following interrogation, the victim was brought to the Gwada Division, where he revealed that he and his father, Iliya Daddi, both from the Sabon-Birnin Local Government Area of Sokoto State, had been abducted.
The PRO said, “The victim said that sometime in April, during the Ramadan period, some unidentified hoodlums invaded their village, shooting sporadically. Out of fear for their lives, he and his father ran but unfortunately ended up in the hands of the bandits.”
He said that Mubarak said that both of them were bound, blindfolded, and driven to an unidentified location, from where he eventually escaped.
The victim spent eight days navigating the wilderness before being rescued by police officers at a checkpoint in Niger State, according to Abiodun.
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The PRO said that Mubarak was taken into custody by police and given medical care.
There are still efforts on to find his family.
The inquiry is ongoing in the meanwhile.
