FOUR DEFENCE MINISTRY DIRECTORS FREED BY TERRORISTS AFTER ALLEGED RANSOM PAYMENT , OTHERS STILL HELD

FOUR DEFENCE MINISTRY DIRECTORS FREED BY TERRORISTS AFTER ALLEGED RANSOM PAYMENT  , OTHERS STILL HELD 

Glintnews Ndukwe , 23nd November 2025

Glintnews earlier report the kidnap of the  Senior officials who were kidnapped   on their way to a promotion course and examination, when armed men attacked and coerced them into the forest

Four out of the six senior Directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence who were abducted several weeks ago have been released by their captors, bringing a partial end to a disturbing episode that shook security circles, alarmed government officials, and triggered frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations. The officials were kidnapped on their way to a mandatory promotion course and examinations when heavily armed men intercepted their vehicle along a remote route and forced them into the forest at gunpoint.

The attackers, described by security sources as “well-armed, tactically organized, and operating with intimate knowledge of the terrain,” ambushed the officials’ convoy in what has now been characterized as a deliberately coordinated strike. Two other directors who were abducted alongside the released quartet are still missing and feared killed after intelligence reports suggested they may have died during violent clashes between rival terrorist factions inside the forest.

According to senior military insiders, the ordeal began when the officials left Abuja two weeks earlier for the scheduled promotion assessments at a Defence training facility in the North-West. The group, all seasoned administrators with decades of service to the Nigerian Armed Forces, reportedly opted to travel by road to reach the venue. Midway through the journey, their vehicle encountered a makeshift roadblock set up by armed men who fired warning shots into the air, ordered the drivers out, and forcefully marched the directors into the bush under the cover of night.

For days, there was complete silence. Families waited anxiously. Defence headquarters declined early comment. And rumours circulated rapidly, ranging from ransom demands to fears of targeted assassination. Multiple rescue efforts were initiated, but dense forest cover and shifting camp locations made it almost impossible for security operatives to identify the captors’ exact position.

A breakthrough reportedly came last night when the terrorists, under claimed  increasing pressure from advancing military units, released four of the kidnapped officials along a rugged pathway at the edge of the forest. The victims, described as visibly exhausted and traumatized, were picked up by a special military team and taken immediately for medical evaluation.

Many Nigerians on social media claimed that ransom was paid by the families of the Four who were released contrary to the claim of the military source 

One of the rescued officials, speaking privately to investigators, described the captivity as “a nightmare of constant movement, fear, gunfire, and the uncertainty of who would survive the next day.” They recounted how the group was repeatedly moved between camps, trekked long distances under duress, and lived with the constant threat of execution whenever military drones buzzed overhead.

While their rescue has been met with relief and celebration within Defence circles, the fate of the remaining two abducted directors has cast a dark cloud over the victory. Intelligence briefings indicate that the men may have been caught in a violent gun battle between the group holding them and a rival faction competing for control of the forest corridor. However, military officials have not confirmed their deaths, saying only that search-and-rescue operations are “active, aggressive, and ongoing.”

The Defence Headquarters is expected to issue a comprehensive statement in the coming days, as internal investigations have already commenced to determine why the convoy was not accompanied by security escorts—especially given the current wave of targeted kidnappings of government personnel across several states.

The presidency, sources say, has been briefed on the matter, with President Bola Tinubu reportedly expressing “deep concern” over the widening trend of attacks on senior civil and military officials. The government is expected to intensify ongoing counter-terrorism operations across the region, focusing in particular on forest belts now serving as operational bases for armed groups.

Meanwhile, the families of the rescued officials have expressed immense relief but called on the government to “leave no stone unturned” in locating the two missing directors. Defence authorities have deployed additional aerial surveillance units and specialized search teams into the forest, hoping to recover either the missing officials—or their remains.

This incident underscores the dangerously escalating reach of armed groups in Nigeria’s northern regions and raises troubling questions about the safety of even high-ranking government officials. As the nation celebrates the return of four senior officers, attention now shifts to whether the government can rescue—or recover—the last two, and how it intends to prevent such brazen attacks in the future.

This also heightens the insecurity in the country. Will the remaining two make it alive or dead? This is the question in everybody's mind.