A joint military task force has rescued an abducted senior Nigerian Army officer, Lt. Col. Ofor Amobi, and a civilian, Mr. Ikechukwu Onwuanra, following an intensive 10-day search-and-rescue operation across forests and communities in Enugu State.
The development was contained in a military operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
According to the report, the breakthrough came in the early hours of Saturday after sustained operations by troops of Sector 1, Operation UDO KA (OPUK).
The rescue mission involved personnel from the 82 Division Garrison, 103 Battalion (Rear), the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service (NN SBS), and the 197 Special Forces Battalion, operating under the leadership of the Commander of the 82 Division Garrison, with support from the Air Component.
The report stated that between 6:00 p.m. on July 31 and 6:00 a.m. on August 1, troops carried out intelligence-led search operations across the Inyi, Awlaw and Akpugo-Eze forests and surrounding communities in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.
At about 2:00 a.m., the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Inyi Division alerted the troops to the suspected location of the kidnapped victims.
The military immediately deployed a fighting patrol to the area, where soldiers found Lt. Col. Amobi and Mr. Onwuanra abandoned at the edge of a forest. The civilian was discovered with a gunshot wound.
Both victims were rescued and evacuated to Inyi before being transferred to the 82 Division Medical Hospital for treatment and comprehensive medical evaluation.
During preliminary debriefing, the victims reportedly told security personnel that they had been blindfolded shortly after their abduction and taken to an unknown location.
They further disclosed that they were eventually abandoned in a forest near the Enugu–Anambra border as the kidnappers came under sustained pressure from the ongoing military operation.
The military credited the successful rescue to the relentless operations conducted by the joint task force, supported by the Air Component, which maintained continuous surveillance and operational dominance over suspected hideouts, restricting the abductors’ movement throughout the 10-day mission.
According to the report, the sustained pressure ultimately forced the kidnappers to abandon their captives and flee.
The military said follow-up operations and investigations are ongoing to identify, track and apprehend those responsible for the abduction.