Nigerian authorities said they had managed to secure the release of 100 kidnapped villagers on Tuesday.
The residents of Manawa in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara State were held hostage by heavily armed gangs for 42 days.
"The Zamfara State Police in collaboration with the State Ministry for Security and Home Affairs have successfully secured the unconditional release of the kidnapped victims," Zamfara State Police spokesperson Muhammad Shehu told news hounds on Tuesday.
The gangs usually demand a ransom to release the captives, but in this case, the captives were freed "without giving any financial or material gain," Shehu added.
The police spokesperson said the villagers "will be medically checked and debriefed" before returning to their families.
The gangs operate in the Rugu Forest, which spans the Zamfara, Katsuna and Kadina states in Nigeria. The region is underpoliced, and authorities have struggled to root out the criminal activity.
In addition to kidnapping, the bandidos also engage in murder, rape and cattle raiding.
The bandidos recently managed to shoot down a Nigerian military plane flying over the region, but the pilot managed to safetly eject and avoid capture.
In addition to the bandidos, the Islamic fundamentalist Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...group has frequently carried out mass kidnappings. The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
of West Africa group is also present in parts of Nigeria, most notably the northeast.
Related:
Manawa: 2020-05-25 SPLM-IO denounces Ethiopian police attack on South Sudanese students
Manawa: 2018-04-18 Afghan forces arrest Amar bil Maruf (religious police) leader of ISIS in Nangarhar
Manawa: 2017-04-09 Lahore blast handler among 10 killed
Manawa: 2020-05-25 SPLM-IO denounces Ethiopian police attack on South Sudanese students
Manawa: 2018-04-18 Afghan forces arrest Amar bil Maruf (religious police) leader of ISIS in Nangarhar
Manawa: 2017-04-09 Lahore blast handler among 10 killed